Electrical Shock
by IHKF
Summary: A ghost begins terrorizing Mayview after the Train incident nobody is willing to talk about, and he has his sights set on one person- Isaac. Can the activity club stop this ghost from destroying the entire city in the name of justice? Probably. But what if Isaac was against them this time?
1. Chapter 1

"ISAAC, NO!"

Isabel screamed out in terror and in pain, holding her shoulder as tightly as she could to keep it in place. Was it broken? She had no idea. She just knew the pain shooting through her was white and fiery and she could do little to mend it. Heck, she could hardly move with the way the cave was shaking!

Ed laid not far away, resting on his forearms as he struggled to stand. Had the situation not been so serious, she would have been amazed that his glasses were intact! Max held his bat as firmly as he could- which wasn't saying much in his condition. All three kids were bruised and bloodied with marks (be they scratches or burns) covering almost every inch of their skin not covered by their clothing. Spender held his stomach and choked on his own spit (or was that blood?) as he struggled to sit up. Doctor Zarei's clothes were torn and her hijab sat messily on her head, but she paid no attention to the blood staining her clothes as she tried desperately to keep Spender from opening his stitches. "Stop moving. You'll just make it worse!" She hissed and forced him back down by his shoulders. She looked up at the gruesome scene from the spectral bubble the ghost before her had conjured. He stood with his arms crossed and the most devilish smile you'd ever see, as if he knew something they didn't.

He did.

Isaac's eyes shown blue- bright and godly and it was everything in her for Isabel to not recoil at the sight of them. His hands clenched and she swore he would have rolled his eyes if she could have seen them. "I've warned you for the last time- don't get in my way!" Isaac turned to face the ghost who nodded his head towards a large mechanism, seemingly created a long time ago. Isaac knew what he meant and walked toward the machine's switch- a small hole about the size of a CD- and began to raise lightning from his hand. Max struggled to move his bat, and as he did he noticed Isaac's intent. "Oh, come on. Don't-!" He groaned and coughed. His lungs felt shattered and he was pretty sure he had some form of internal bleeding, but that wasn't what he was about to worry about right then. "Don't do this, man!"

"Why?" Isaac growled and faced Max as he struggled. "Why shouldn't I?"

How had it gotten to this?

* * *

><p>- - A Week Prior - -<p>

"HEY! HEY! HEY! WHOA!" Isaac screeched as Max landed with almost perfect balance. Max's hands gripped his scooter as well as they could, enough for Max to have confidence in his riding. "Sorry, Stormy, but we don't exactly have time to slow down."

"How are you even riding this thing in the middle of the woods?!"

"Plot convenience."

They sped on, Max just barely dodging trees and Isaac screaming for him to slow down because they weren't going to be much help to the fight if they were unconscious under (or through) a tree. Isaac tightened his grip around Max's waist and dug his head into the hood of his Insolent Children jacket. He swore Max would be the death of him and if he got them killed here-!

Then something came up that would be difficult for Max to pass around with ease. He knew because he felt a low growl emit from Max's chest. "Hold on tight."

"Well I certainly haven't been hanging on loosely! I can promise you that!" When he yelled back at Max, he saw the roadblock: a large line of spirits. They were innocent enough, but if Max hit them it would certainly start a fight they just didn't have enough time for (but certainly would win).

"Do you think I could get some help here?"

Isaac nodded and released one of his arms from Max, pointing behind them. "Say when."

"When!"

Isaac blasted wind from his fingers, enough to send the two catapulting above the thick line of spirits. The two were almost mesmerized by the sight. With how high they were in the air, it was incredible that they could see all of the tiny details about each spirit- some of them looked like something out of Spirited Away and others looked like animals (dogs, snakes, spiders, whathaveyou). The variety of life was breathtaking and made both of them thankful they could see what so many other people couldn't. Isaac glanced over at Max's face and felt his own heat up. Max's eyes were wide and his mouth hung open in the largest 'o' shape you'd ever see, but he looked happy- which was rare for his often-cynical and sarcastic friend.

Friend.

Loose friends.

Were they friends?

Then Isaac felt his foot slip away from the scooter and he began to flail his free arm around as he fell to the side. "M-a-x!"

Just like that, one of Max's hands gripped the hand Isaac still held onto him with, tilting forward so that the scooter would lean its nose down- enough for Isaac to fall into his back. Isaac screamed like a little girl and held Max's jacket between his fingers.

They stuck the landing with Max laughing at him.

"Dude, you sounded like my sister!"

Isaac groaned and pulled away so that his chest wasn't pressed to Max's back anymore. "Shut up! You would scream too if somebody was driving like a madman with you in the next seat!"

"Have you ever been in a car with my Dad before?" Max snickered. "Just saying."

It wasn't long before they heard a familiar maniacal cackle.

"Isabel?"

"Isabel."

Max made a sharp turn (as sharp a turn as he could make, riding on grass) and rode straight. Within a minute Isabel and Ed came into view, Isabel standing on the head of a lizard-looking spirit as she guffawed and drew on her aura and Ed riding on the back of a spirit that looked strangely like a bull shark and an overgrown platypus. He had a smile on his face as wide as his ears that was as explanatory as Isabel's laughing.

"I'm starting to think they didn't need any help." Isaac mumbled, stepping off of the scooter. Max pulled his bat out of his backpack and ran at the bull shark/platypus. "I'll help Ed! You take Isabel!"

Isaac nodded and focused his fingers like a gun at the lizard spirit. "Isabel!" She glanced his way and waved before back flipping off the spirit's head. Isaac took the shot immediately and the lizard recoiled as it was struck in the eye. It screeched and pulled back onto its hind legs, leaving just enough opportunity for Isabel to make her way to its front and land a forceful punch into its stomach. The spirit collapsed and Isabel smirked, driving her umbrella through the spirit's chest. Isaac grimaced and looked away until the lizard's 'ghost' ran away in fear, leaving Isabel standing on the ground where it used to be with one hand on her hip and the other on the handle of her umbrella. "That was satisfying. It's been weeks since anything's gone on."

Isaac rolled his eyes and slumped his shoulders. Too much violence.

Just as they went to help Max and Ed, they saw Max slam his bat into the bull shark/platypus's head with enough force that its face landed directly into the sharp line Ed had drawn. Its 'ghost' left in much the same manner, if not quicker and more erratically.

Isabel gave them both high-fives. "Great job, guys! We really showed them whose boss didn't we?"

"Guys, didn't that seem a little too easy?" Isaac shrugged. "Usually spirits that big and that mean put up more of a fight."

"Take your wins where they come, will you?!" Ed was practically bouncing up and down, hands in fists like he was ready to punch something in front of him. "Those spirits didn't stand a chance!"

Max retrieved his scooter and slung his backpack back over his shoulder. "So why did Spender give us a call and tell us, in a jumpy, terrified fashion, to help you guys?"

"What?" Isabel raised an eyebrow. "We never called Mister Spender for help!"

"Well then how did he know?!" Isaac exclaimed, arms stretched to either side in annoyance. "Uh, male intuition?"

"That's not a thing!"

"Look, he was probably just being a doting teacher, okay?" Isabel shrugged. "Nothing else to it!"

Isaac shook his head. "No, the way he sounded on the call- it was like he was in a panic-!"

Max was bent over laughing. "What? M-Male intuition? Ed, seriously?!"

Ed laughed and shrugged. "What?"

Isaac growled and pulled at his hair. "Would you guys just shut up and listen to me for a-?"

Then they knew why Spender had been so panicked. Something breathed down Isaac's neck, slow and uncomfortably warm. A hand snaked over his shoulder and he could hardly get a word out before it pressed something cold against the nape of his neck. Just as the activity club turned to look at the threat, Isaac twisted on his heel and shot lightning as fast as he could, but whatever it was evaded the attack and vanished, chuckling too evilly to have been playing with them.

Isaac landed on his butt, unbalanced from the sudden turn. Max tossed his scooter down and prepared his bat. Ed grimaced and whipped the paintbrush out quickly. Isabel reached cautiously for her umbrella. In typical hero-of-an-anime style, Isaac stood and conjured lightning saying "Show yourself!". Of course, this only made the spirit laugh even harder.

"It's in all of you! I can see it! I can feel it!" The ominous voice grew licentious- enough to creep all four kids out. "I can taste it on my tongue…"

Isaac scowled and stuck his tongue out. Whatever that spirit is, they had been on his neck and he felt contaminated.

"Come out here, you creep!" That was Max.

It was also Max who got hit first, a spectral shot aimed right at his chin. He was sent flying. "Oh my god!" Isabel turned in the direction the attack came from and took a shot. She was the next to get hit. A spectral shot right to her back sent her face-first into the ground. Ed just barely dodged a shot at him and Isaac got hit on his side. He winced and looked to Ed, who was helping Isabel up as Max used his bat for balance. "Any idea what this thing is?!"

"It's taking spectral shots at us, Isaac! It has to be some sort of confused specter!"

Isaac yelped as another shot hit the floor by his feet and he twisted so that he was backing up towards the group. "Why can't we see it? Where is it shooting from?!"

"One way to find out!"

Isaac turned around to find they'd all had the same idea, back-to-back and ready to attack. Isaac raised an eyebrow to ask "What-?"

Another shot hit him in the stomach and he wheezed as he fell to the ground.

"I'm not confused." The voice resonated and they still couldn't tell where it was coming from. "At least, not anymore."

The voice took another shot at Isabel, who deflected it as Ed quickly drew a sword and lunged at where the shot came from. To their amazement and pleasure, they saw a bubble pop and a ghost sat in mid-air, covering his face with his arms as Ed swung the sword. "Got you now, Bubble Boy!" The ghost barely moved out of the way quickly enough, but before Ed could mock him for his weak defenses, he appeared behind Ed with a fist shrouded in a black aura. Just as he was about to throw the punch, Max knocked him upside the head with his bat and sent him flying in a circle above Ed.

As Ed readied his sword, the ghost steadied himself enough to glare back at them. "I'm not confused, but I know which one of you is!"

He moved a few inches to the side just as a bolt of lightning passed his arm and flew at Max, who was covered by Isabel and her shield. "Isaac! Be more careful, man!" Max barked.

Isaac was sitting up with his arm aimed at the ghost. He frowned. "Well sorry! I didn't think he saw me!"

The ghost laughed and turned to him. "My dear boy, you're the only one I'm paying attention to, anymore."

In a flash, he was behind Isaac again- much to Isaac's confusion. The ghost leaned forward to his ear and whispered. "Isn't it nice that someone is paying attention to you for once?"

Isabel took another spectral shot at it, hitting Isaac's ear and missing the ghost by a few centimeters. The ghost flew into the air, cackling. "You'll have to do better than that, girlie!"

Isabel's face grew an angry shade of red and her aura reflected her irritation, blazing like a flare. "Good! Then I don't have to hold back!"

Isaac held onto his ear and scowled, standing and readying his fist of lightning. They'd take this thing down together!

Together…

Max and Ed seemed to know exactly what Isabel was doing as she hopped onto a few painted blocks Ed had drawn in the air. She launched from them with a fierce battle cry and the two boys followed her lead. Isaac stood in the same spot, fist dying, confused. His eyes widened as Max leaped at the ghost's back, Ed took his sides and Isabel took to his front.

Together…

They were a team, right?

His hands fell limp at his sides.

Even as all of his sides were covered, the ghost laughed and created another bubble, tossing all three kids away to different ends of the clearing they'd created during their first fight. Max prepared for impact, curling into a ball as he hit the tree and slid down. Ed hit the tree horizontally and shouted as he fell to the ground. Isabel landed heavily against a tree, screaming in pain as her shoulder bounced in a way it certainly wasn't supposed to…

"Children?!"

Isabel recognized the voice. With as much energy as she could muster to speak without screaming, she called to the voice. "Doc! We're over here!"

As Doctor Zarei came around the corner, spectral energy burning around her, the ghost snickered and backed away from the clearing, disappearing behind another bubble before they could stop him.

* * *

><p>- An Hour Later -<p>

Isabel sat in the clubroom with her arms crossed, looking down at the couch Spender laid on, his hand at his ribcage. "So you kids got away safely. That's good. My intention was never for you to fight this battle."

"So what was your intention?" Zarei looked at him with a bandage in her hand, eyes narrowed in a freezing scowl. "Send them in there and hope they just figure out they're supposed to escape?"

"I've always taught them that their safety comes first."

"While simultaneously acting as though the job is most important. You can't do both, Richard."

Spender groaned and leaned his head back against the armrest, visibly annoyed by Zarei's scolding.

Zarei turned to Isabel. "How is your shoulder?"

Isabel gave it a shrug to see how it felt. It wasn't entirely normal, but she didn't feel the splitting pain she had earlier. "Eh, could be worse."

"Try not to get into another fight while it's healing." Zarei lifted Spender's shirt to wrap him in bandages. He grunted in pain, but she shushed him and continued her job. "And that goes for all of you."

Max had a patch on his cheek and bruises up and down the side of his body that hit the tree. Ed sat on Spender's desk with bandages for a shirt, smiling. He didn't intend to take that seriously.

Neither did Isabel.

Max looked over to Spender from his place on the opposite armrest and pointed at him. "How'd you get so beat up?"

Zarei glowered at Max and went to silence her patient, but he waved her off and tried to sit up. "How did you think I knew that ghost was coming for you?" Spender grunted in response. "He got me by surprise. He wanted to know where you kids were and…" He sighed and leaned back down. "I wouldn't say he can read minds, but if he's close enough, he can… see things- things you would never want your enemy to know."

"Like where your students are, presumably?" Isaac mumbled under his breath. He leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets, lips tight and eyebrows furrowed.

Zarei sighed in annoyance and pulled away from Spender. "This would go much faster if you would hold your questions until after my job is done." Her tone was filled with venom nobody dared retort to. They kids went silent, each lost in their own thoughts. Isaac rubbed at his neck where he'd felt the ghost touch. At the time, it'd felt like he'd snapped a barrette onto Isaac's neck, but now he couldn't feel anything. His eyes drifted to the activity club members, each sat in a silent circle as they awaited the end of their teacher's treatment. He was somewhere off to the side, disconnected and outside of the ring. His thoughts drifted to what the ghost said…

He'd always known Isabel and Ed were tightly knit and he knew Spender couldn't tell him what they knew because-! He wasn't going to stray there.

It also was no secret that Isabel and Ed didn't really consider him a friend. He was an extra person in the fight (when he was allowed to be there). He was another eye to take morning patrol. He was just, simply put, there. But was it that way with Max? Max wasn't exactly close to Isabel and Ed. He even went as far as to mock them from time-to-time.

But he mocked Isaac too?

Did that mean he considered them friends?

Isaac had always wanted somebody to talk to, somebody to joke around with and empathize with when they were left out of the metaphorical informative bubble.

Max wasn't that guy.

Of course he knew about as much as Isaac knew, but for how long? There was nothing stopping him from asking questions and getting the answers Isaac couldn't. How long was it until he…?

Isaac frowned and shut his eyes. No. He wasn't about to go there. The thoughts would become an endless loop of anxiety and loneliness he wasn't willing to put up with during the school week.


	2. Chapter 2

"_caaaan…. Can't b…. be serious?"_

"_AHHHHH!"_

"_I.. Iz… Izzy!"_

"_ED!"_

"_s…Stop!"_

"_isa…Isaac!"_

Isaac was sitting up before he could register what was happening. What was happening? A battle? In the middle of the night?! "Guys!"

Looking around, he noticed the still atmosphere of his room. Nothing moved but the shadows of the branches outside his window. There wasn't a sound coming from anywhere. All he could see was the darkness shrouding around him and all he could make of his hearing was his labored breathing, heart beating against his ribcage painfully. His body was covered in cold sweat, yet his covers lay on the ground beside his bed and he had to sit there to understand what had happened.

It was a nightmare, simple as that. He coughed into the back of his shivering hand and looked around. No, it couldn't have been. Why was he so distressed if it had only been a dream? But what other explanation was there? He was sitting in his bed at… he checked the clock… 3:00 AM and there wasn't a sign of life anywhere near his room. Isaac coughed again and leaned forward from his sitting position so that his hands could touch the bed.

Real. Definitely real.

He clenched the fabric between his fingers for proof. They smelled of his air freshener- rainforest. This was his room. He was home. He was safe. So what was he so scared of?

* * *

><p>- The Following Day -<p>

"Oh my god!" Isaac hadn't been sitting for one minute before Max walked out of the corner store. "You look like you got ran over! What happened to you?!" Isaac frowned and grabbed both of his cheeks, stretching them. "I don't look that bad, do I?"

Max took out his cellphone and took a picture of him then handed it to him with the speed of an excited toddler. Isaac took the phone audaciously and immediately looked away, groaning. "Ugghhh! I look like I'm dead!"

He tossed the phone in Max's general direction, who caught it just before it hit the ground with an irritated frown. He'd seen Isaac clear as day, even from behind the sliding doors of the store. His skin held an unhealthy complexion, bags under his eyes and his skin pale like he'd walked out stark naked into a snow day. Considering it was the middle of spring, that wasn't very likely to be the case. "Seriously, man. What happened?"

Isaac made another audibly aggravated noise as the bus showed up. Max headed straight for the door, turning back only to see if Isaac was following. With every ounce of strength in his body, Isaac pushed himself up from his seat on the sidewalk and trudged up the steep stairs to the seats of the bus. On their way down the aisle, they moved by the usual obstructions including (but not limited to): backpacks that had been tossed aside in favor of seat space, feet stuck out unceremoniously in the middle of the walkway for no reason, Suzy being Suzy and Collen busying himself trying to keep Suzy from being Suzy, and sixth graders reaching out to see if they could get the older kids to sit with them. Eventually they reached an empty seat and slumped down together, Max inside and Isaac outside.

Max was preoccupied watching scenery pass them by and some part of Isaac felt relieved. That meant time to think in peace.

He could only remember bits and pieces of the dream. He could remember a road and a cave, maybe the edge of town? The bubble around Mayview? More importantly, he remembered screaming. He remembered voices filled with pain and there was crying and fear… and there was anger. He wasn't sure who was feeling that anger. He'd assume himself, but he wasn't so sure.

What was really getting at him was the fact that there was anger involved with the wailing and the yelling that he couldn't seem to stop. He'd tried, he knew he had. But it didn't seem to be enough, because the voice that called his name was choking.

Maybe it was just some sort of dream warning him about whatever that ghost was? Maybe the anger he'd felt was anger at the ghost for hurting his friends.

Friends… there he went again!

"_Isn't it nice that someone is paying attention to you for once?"_

The same thing had been running through his head longer than it needed to. He thought about it while eating, brushing his teeth, and even doing his homework. It was the first thing he thought about when he'd dragged himself out of bed, weak and tired but alive and thinking because he just couldn't stop repeating that same line to himself over and over again.

"_Isn't it nice that someone is paying attention to you for once?"_

Wasn't it nice?

No, Isaac thought, it was certainly not nice to have the immoral eyes of some spectral nightmare on you and only you.

He'd had a very good point, though. Isaac knew he wasn't like Ed and Isabel and he knew he wasn't like anyone else, for that matter. He could hardly stand to get along with other kids because, besides the activity club, nobody understood him. Nobody normal got that he had to fight with himself to keep electricity from shocking the kid next to him in class while they had a test. Nobody normal understood that he could kill almost every person he knew with little to no effort and that it terrified him. Nobody normal could empathize with him about being so painfully awkward that he made everyone around him as cold as he felt. Then again, he was starting to wonder if anybody in the activity club could get it, either.

"Hey! Are you okay? Answer me, would you? You're even more brooding than usual!"

Isaac was shaken out of his thoughts by a heavy slug on his shoulder from Max, who looked more worried than he did irritated. Isaac shrugged and rubbed his arm where Max's fist hit, facing front so Max's view of his reddening cheeks was very limited. "Yeah I'm- I'm fine, Max."

"You don't look fine."

"Thanks."

"It's what I'm here for."

Max stuffed his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and slouched down in his seat. "No but seriously, are you okay? You're starting to look about as pale as Miss Baxter when Johnny walks into class twenty minutes late."

Isaac sagged down next to him, shrugging. "I've been better, I guess. Just didn't get enough sleep last night is all."

Max opened his mouth to say something, but he must have decided against it because Isaac didn't hear another word out of him. The bus from then-on was silent.

Silent enough for him to fall asleep Max thought, looking down as he felt something fall onto his shoulder. Isaac was passed out- entirely unconscious. Drool might not have been running down his chin, but he could tell by the way Isaac huddled for warmth, face nuzzling into his neck, that the medium was long gone and wouldn't wake up for a long time. Max groaned and glared down at him. "Had to be here, huh? You couldn't wait until we got to school so Ed could deal with your snoring instead?" When he got no response, Max pulled down the rim of his hat to hide the creeping blush on his face and turned to the window.

* * *

><p>- School -<p>

Isaac really wanted nothing to do with school or anything involving school, but he knew his grades were important. He had to at least try, no matter how weak his legs were beginning to feel under the weight of everything else (be it stairs, his backpack, or the rest of his body). So Isaac trudged into first period with some hope.

By seventh period he had half the mind to slam his head into his desk and just leave it there for the remainder of the day.

Nothing important happened. He hadn't begun to feel any worse, but he hadn't begun to feel better. He was beginning to wonder if he was sick with something.

When Isaac finally reached the clubroom, he threw himself onto the couch without as much as a 'hello' to Spender (who didn't seem too preoccupied with his existence) and just about fell unconscious again but he shook his head and sat up so that the urge wasn't so great. Waking up on Max's shoulder had been, while exhilarating, humiliating and he didn't want to make any more of a fool of himself than he already had. The memory left a pink stain on his cheeks. Aside from the teacher, who was swept up on his phone and scowling dangerously, Isaac was alone in the clubroom.

What could he do to keep himself awake? Homework was out of the question. There was no way he was sitting down to do algebraic equations when he hardly had the ability to talk. Talking didn't seem like much of an option. What would he even talk to Mister Spender about? Besides, the man seemed more than content texting whoever he was. Well, maybe content wasn't the word for it…

Oh yes, he could think.

Isaac's thoughts drifted to where they had been earlier.

He'd always enjoyed pretending when he'd been a kid. He loved running around pretending he had superpowers and pretending to shoot down villains and general nuisances to the imaginary public. Then he'd got real powers and something strange had started to happen. Young Isaac found himself becoming less and less connected with his peers. Nobody knew what making a rainbow with their hands was like. He shocked teachers and students alike on accident. He made winds large enough the teachers would think the windows were open. He didn't have any friends. So instead of pretending to have heat vision, he pretended to be buddies with people who wanted nothing to do with him- aka, Isabel and Ed.

Well, that wasn't fair. They seemed to like him. A little. Not really. But they didn't seem to mind him.

He couldn't blame them. Isabel and Ed were like macaroni and cheese- great alone but even better together. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen them separated willingly, so it wasn't like they just didn't want anything to do with him. They were just tightly knit and it was understandable there wasn't room for a third party.

Though he couldn't help but think… would they notice if he just left? If he left without saying goodbye, would they stop him? Ask him why? Would he have an answer?

"Oh my god, you weren't kidding Max! What is up with your face?!"

Isaac sighed. "Hi, Isabel."

Isaac pulled his legs to his chest just in time for Isabel to jump over the back of the couch and take a seat. Ed dropped his backpack to the floor with a heavy thud, right next to Isaac's. "You look like a piece of paper!"

"Shut uuup."

Max wasn't far behind Ed and tossed his bag down next to the others. "I told you! He looks like a zombie, doesn't he?"

"Can we get off this subject, please?" Isaac half mumbled half yelled. He didn't really have enough energy to do his usual angry hissy fit.

Spender exhaled and put his phone away, turning to look at his students. "I have some news regarding the ghost from yesterday."

"Let's hear it. The more we know, the easier it'll be to punch his stupid face in!" Isabel threw her fist into her palm for good measure. Ed snickered and nodded eagerly as Isaac rolled his eyes. "I'm afraid it might not be that easy." Spender shook his head and came around to lean on his desk, wincing when he upset his side. "I'm afraid to say that this ghost was once a colleague of your grandfather's, Isabel."

"What?" She leaned forward in her seat, hands gripping the seat of the couch. "His name is Conall. He had an unfortunate early end on a mission here in Mayview around twenty years ago."

"Twenty-?! Then why is he screwing with us just now?!" Max exclaimed, arms extended on either side of him. "I'm not sure. Perhaps something of significance has changed recently?"

"Like what?" Isaac mumbled, leaning up. "The only thing that's changed is…" Isaac's eyes widened as something seemed to click. Max nearly jumped at the speed all eyes shot to him. "Me? I'm the new variable?"

"You are the only thing that's changed in Mayview that may awaken a ghost."

"What about the train?" Ed asked, an uncharacteristic confused frown on his face (from what they could see). "Now that there's no way out of the city…"

"That could be it," Spender thought, gaze casted at the floor. "But I doubt it. Zarei was too young to have tamed the train by the time Conall died. He probably wasn't even aware there was ever a way out."

"So what would he want with Max?" Isabel reclined back in her seat, arms crossed behind her head. "I'm not sure." Spender looked over at Max questioningly. "What would he want with you?"

"Why would you think I'd know?!"

"Ooh! Ooh! Did any of your ancestors live here? Maybe they murdered Conall and you look exactly like the guy who did it so he's going after you!"

"I thought we said that becoming a Spector wasn't genetic?"

"It's not."

"That doesn't mean your ancestor being one is impossible." Ed and Isabel chimed in.

"AH!" Max grabbed either side of his head and Isabel and Ed continued to craft diabolical theory after theory about what Max may have done to invoke the wrath of a dead Spector.

Isaac watched silently from his spot on the couch as Isabel and Ed began to huddle into a small circle with Max, who was trying to keep their imaginations in check with reality. Spender sometimes contributed to the theories, to which Max responded "Whose side are you on?!"

They were all still obviously in pain from the fight, Isaac noticed. Isabel still reached for her shoulder subconsciously. Ed remained constrained, as it would be painful to bounce off the walls like he usually would. Max leaned on his bat nonchalantly, but Isaac could see how he shifted uncomfortably. Spender never stood alone and constantly leaned back on his desk for support with the occasional hand to his side. They still had scratches and bruises and bandages under their clothes but together they seemed like the perfect group.

Something flickered in his mind and he slowly, painfully, pushed off of the couch. His knees were still weak and he suddenly remembered that yes- he, too, was in pain from yesterday's battle and yes, he only had about an hour's worth of sleep (from the wonderful bus ride). Neither of those things mattered, though. He walked toward the door, eyes watching the rest of the activity club as he did so. Even when he turned the knob, opened the door, and walked out, they didn't respond. For a good minute Isaac leaned against the wall by the door, just to see if anybody would step out and ask. It was an awfully dramatic thing to do, but something in him kept telling him: _Do it. Do it. DO IT._

Once the minute was passed, Isaac was on his way home, head hung low and he wasn't sure if it was because of his lack of sleep or something else.


	3. Chapter 3

"Aren't you listening to me?! I said pull me in!" Isaac tossed his pillow across the room. It hit his closet and shook the wooden doors before falling lightly to the ground. Fleetingly, Isaac wondered if he should have just kicked something and if that would have been more of a stress reliever. He exhaled angrily and flopped back onto his bed. Had both his parents not worked diligently until late hours of the night, he would have been paranoid about them hearing him talk to himself- because that was precisely what he thought he was doing.

He'd been trying restlessly for a little over an hour to contact his spirit. Unfortunately for him, he was either being ignored or something was wrong. He hoped he was just being ignored. "Why won't you talk to me? Say something. Anything!"

He sat up and grabbed his head, yelling as he tugged at his hair. When he glanced at the mirror on his wall, he saw just how horrible he looked. If he thought he'd looked bad in the morning, by the time he made it home from the activity club, he could practically feel how his eyes dulled and his hair wasn't as naturally spiky as it usually was. The bags under his eyes worsened and his lips were turning some sort of blue, like he was cold or something. He supposed he kind of was.

Isaac frowned and moved a hand to touch his cheek. "Am I being weak? Is that it? Are you mad at me?" He could hardly feel his hand where his fingers grazed his skin. He was numb, but at the same time there was pain in his neck that kept throbbing like a second heartbeat. Isaac groaned and ran his other hand over the spot where it hurt the most. He was falling apart and he didn't know why. "Please… Please just talk to me."

- Earlier -

"So…" Isabel started, pulling away from the circle they'd formed to spew theories about Max's crimes against Conall. "Are we going to talk about Isaac just leaving the room for no reason and how weird that was?"

"Did something happen?" Spender watched his students wearily, eyebrows furrowed. He'd noticed the moment Isaac walked into the room that something had been off. One didn't even need to see how he dragged his feet when he walked to know that there was a weight on Isaac's shoulders. It wasn't rare that Isaac would feel guilty or be easy to anger, but he wasn't sure it was either this time.

"I don't know. He's been like that since this morning- told me he just didn't get enough sleep last night." Max hadn't believed him, but he'd pretended to. Did he have an internal injury or something? What was his problem? "Not enough sleep doesn't do that to a person."

Max nodded in agreement with Isabel, who had her arms crossed indignantly.

"Believe me. I know."

"So what could it be, then?"

"Well…" Ed's interjection was quiet. He faced the ground and shrugged. "Conall seemed really, uh, interested in him yesterday."

"Did he, now?" Spender was listening.

- Isaac's House -

Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!

Isaac groaned and dug his head further between his pillow and his bed.

Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Go away."

"Isaac, we kind of actually really need your help right now!"

That was Max. Isaac looked to his door, but when the knocking came again, he heard it in the direction of his window. Max sat on a branch, wrapping on his door urgently. "Seriously, Stormy. Get your butt over here and open up!"

In a flash, Isaac was at his window, opening it to let Max in. When Max only stared at him repulsed (worriedly, but Isaac didn't see it that way), Isaac raised an eyebrow and motioned for him to come inside. "Are you coming in or what?"

"What the heck, man? You look even worse than before!"

"Thanks." Max climbed in and Isaac closed the window.

"So what did you need my help with?"

"Well-!" Max went halfway across his room then turned abruptly to look at him. He couldn't stand to see Isaac that way. Everything about him looked lifeless. His eyes sank and watched him resignedly. His body was so loose he seemed sick and tired of everything and everyone around him. It was like another person entirely stood before him, broken and beaten and raw. This guy in front of him wasn't Isaac. He looked like he'd given up.

Isaac's frown deepened and he sat back down on his bed, holding his face in both his hands. "What do you need my help with, Max?"

"The ghost." It'd taken Max a while to respond.

"What about the ghost?"

"Ed said he seemed attached to you. Any idea why?"

Isaac only shrugged at the suggestion. "I don't know. I've been wondering why, too, but nothing fits so…"

He lifted his head to Max with an eyebrow raised. Max could even see the weakness in that and it made him shiver. "I don't have any answers, Max."

"Nobody does, but maybe if you told me some of your ideas we could help you make the connections?"

"Nobody's going to help me with anything!"

The change in the tone of his voice was abrupt. Max jumped and backed away, even though Isaac didn't make a move. "Look, you guys can take him down with or without me, okay?"

"What?"

"It doesn't matter whether or not I'm there."

"What are you even talking about?" Max looked affronted if not cross. He couldn't understand where all of that was coming from. Well, he could. He knew all about how Isaac was kept in the dark about… pretty much everything… but all that did was make Isaac angry! How could Isaac's attitude change so drastically? Or was it something he hadn't been seeing before? Isaac sighed and curled even further into himself- away from Max. "I'm quitting the activity club."

"You're what?!"

Isaac stood and walked around to the other side of his bed where the door was. "Look, I'm clearly in no condition to be of much use to anyone right now so maybe you should just-!"

Something shot across the room, temporarily distracting them.

"What was that?" Max's head whipped to the side after the shadow. He reached hesitantly for his bat. If this thing was what he thought it was…

"I don't know." Even in his faded state, Isaac's hands went up in self-defense, bright lightning (not as bright as usual, Max noted) curling at his fingertips. "Come out, wherever you are! We don't want to hurt you if we don't have to!"

There was snickering. It resounded through the room like they stood in the Grand Canyon. Max felt himself tremble in anticipation- or was that fear?

"Did you miss me?"

Isaac felt breath down the nape of his neck and heard the voice soft against his ear. "You should have."

Isaac was turning around and shooting at Conall as fast as his body would let him. Max took notice of where Isaac shot and ran at the ghost with his bat in hand, swinging fervently. Of course, without fail, Conall dodged both attacks and flew over their heads, chuckling as his aura lit his body and he readied his shots. Max just barely dodged three and Isaac gave up after the first shot hit him, resolving instead to roll to the other side of the room. This was a mistake, because the moment he began to roll he felt his head go light and throb in pain. Vertigo set in and his rolling came to a stop too late, Isaac hitting the closet with his head on the floor and the rest of his body pressed to the wall. He barked in pain and winced, struggling to move from his position. He managed to roll to his side so that he laid on the floor, but he fought to stand. Max watched Isaac's crash and growled. Conall, in the meantime, formed a spectral strong-arm and swung at Max, who moved back rapidly to avoid being tossed across the room. The last time Conall took a swing; Max leaped onto his arm and threw his bat at Conall's face.

Instant impact.

Conall howled and went flying against the wall and out of Isaac's room.

Max rushed to Isaac's side, setting a hand on his shoulder as he slowly helped him to his knees. "Come on. We have to get out of here."

"My parents should be home soon."

"He won't stay here. He'll follow us if he's looking for you. Let's go!"

The two rushed out of Isaac's room and into the hallway, running down the stairs with Isaac falling onto Max.

Max reacted quickly and caught him, throwing one arm around his shoulders and his arm around Isaac's. Somewhere behind them, they heard Conall screaming.

- School -

"How did you know my parents weren't home?"

"You honestly think I climbed up the tree outside your window for no reason? I tried the front door first, genius. When nobody answered I assumed you were the only one home."

"What if I wasn't home?"

Max stayed silent as he dragged Isaac up the stairs of Mayview Middle School. He needed to get to the clubroom. He was originally just supposed to report back with whatever information Isaac had been feeling well enough to supply- this was probably better anyway.

_Isaac…_

"What?"

Max glanced at him, confused. "What?"

"Did you say something?"

"No… why?"

"Just… wondering."

_Isaac…!_

"What?"

"I didn't say anything!"

"I heard you! Just now!"

"Cool your jets, Jeff Rodgers! If you get all worked up it'll make whatever you're sick with worse."

"I'm not sick." As if fate was trying to prove his argument invalid, Isaac felt a cough come up and he looked away from Max in an attempt to hide it. Max smirked and shrugged so that Isaac fell further onto his shoulders. "Sure you're not."

Isaac groaned and hung his head.

By the time they reached the clubroom, Max had begun to feel himself bursting with anxiety. Isaac had slowly become heavier and heavier with each step they took and the coughing he'd started didn't do anything to mend his worries. He tossed (lightly settled) Isaac down upon the couch, positive that he'd fallen asleep again when they'd reached the door. "What happened?! He looks even worse!"

Isabel bent over to press her forehead against Isaac's, frowning before she even touched him. "Oh my god, Max! He's freezing!"

"I know! What was I supposed to do?!"

"I don't know!"

Mister Spender hurried over and bent down beside Isaac. "Isaac? Isaac, can you hear me?" When there was no response he grimaced and shook his head. "I need to call Zarei."

"What we need to do is find a safe house. Mister 'I like to disappear and reappear randomly' found his way to Isaac's house and he's probably following us right now!"

Ed frowned and jumped over the back of the couch to get a good look at Isaac. "So what are we gonna do?"

"The only thing we can do." Spender sighed and stood, readjusting his glasses.

- ? -

_Isaac…_

"What? What do you want from me?"

_Isaac…_

"What?! Just tell me what you want!"

_Justice…_

Isaac couldn't open his eyes or open his mouth to speak. He felt weightless- like he was being tossed around and jerked side-to-side like some type of toy. He was surrounded by a void- a deep, dark, endless void and he couldn't see anything. The voice he'd heard was still there. Though, it definitely wasn't Max…

"Justice?"

_Justice for me and for Mayview and for the corrupt system that runs things behind the curtains._

"Corrupt system?"

_The activity consortium._

"The what?"

_So you know nothing? What have you done to deserve such secrecy and fear?_

"You mean-?"

_Nobody ever tells you anything, right?_

Isaac didn't respond- not that he could have.

_It has to be really lonely._

"Shut up."

_They leave you out of everything._

_You could leave and it wouldn't make a difference. Max could even be your replacement! They already seem to have taken a shining to him…_

"Shut up!"

_They don't understand you. Just like Mom and Dad._

_They don't care about you. They want nothing to do with you. They're scared of you._

"SHUT UP!"

Isaac couldn't scream any louder. He wasn't even sure if he was screaming at all. He knew all of this already! He didn't need some voice reminding him! He was used to it! That was the way things were! He was all alone and it wouldn't change no matter how much he wanted it to, so of course he knows that everybody he holds dear is terrified of him. Of course he knows Max just fits better than he does. Of course he knows. He knows. He understands all of it! So why-?

_I care about you. My world revolves around you. I know what it feels like to be feared- to have people who should be your friends trying to get rid of you._

"It's you, then, isn't it? You're Conall! How are you inside my head?"

_That doesn't matter._

"Of course it matters! Once I tell Mister Spender what's going on…"

_What? What will he do, Isaac? He can't tell you what he can do- he can only do it. Why should he be able to control you like that? Why should you just let him 'fix' you when you have no idea what he's doing?_

"I don't care about control."

_Don't you?_

"Control is Isabel's thing."

_Isabel and Ed are brutes. They love violence and they take power by dominating. You are an intellectual, Isaac. You have power if you're adored. What makes people adore you more than doing what's right?_

"No…"

_That's why you love justice, isn't it?_

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

_I understand justice, Isaac. You need to know what happened here. You need to know about the bloodshed._

"Bloodshed?"

Conall had his attention.

_The Activity Consortium- the Association Richard Spender works for- sent employees they happened to find useless on a death mission. Nobody sent made it out alive. I was one of those men. Everyone knew. My friends knew and they never told me- they just nodded and sent me off to my death._

"You're… you're kidding?"

_Do you want to be like me, Isaac? Do you want to toss your life away for a company of murderers and liars? Or, do you want to spend your life protecting the innocent from events like the massacre twenty years ago?_

"I want to protect people."

_I want that, too. But in order to protect, you need to teach the traitors a lesson- there needs to be punishment to reinforce that they never do it again._

Isaac agreed and slowly, he started to wake up.

- The Road to Isabel's and Ed's House -

"This was a horrible idea. Why did we agree to this?"

"Because otherwise we couldn't get Sparky to safety- which is important considering Conall is after him."

Isabel groaned and continued to cover Max as they hurried down the dirt road, sweating under the heat of pressure on their backs. Ed held his paintbrush firmly and walked ahead of Max, who slung an unconscious Isaac over his back. He was getting even colder and Max was getting worried. The human body could only get so cold before…

"He's getting worse."

"Mister Spender called Doctor Zarei. She should be en-route to my Grandfather's right now."

Max's expression must have betrayed him and all his efforts to stay cool, because Isabel smiled comfortingly at him and tilted her head. "He'll be fine, Max."

"Oh I know. If he's not, somebody's going to have to pay."

"And we're not talkin' about cash!" Ed giggled and twirled his brush in his hand.

"I'm just worried about Mister Spender. Is he going to be alright?"

"He's a grown man, Max. The only reason Conall had a chance against him was because he surprised him. Mister Spender knows he's coming."

That had been the plan. Spender would stay behind and distract Conall while the kids snuck out with Isaac. "Surprise is only worth so much in a fight." Max mumbled, tilting his cap down.

Then he jumped. "Ow! Which one of you did that?"

"Did what?"

"One of you hit me!"

"Hit you?"

"Yeah! What was that for?"

"Max, neither of us hit you." Isabel and Ed exchanged odd looks.

"One of you did."

Max kept his eyes trained on both of them, only to feel another pain shoot through him. He jumped again. "Ow! Okay, I saw it that time. Neither of you did that."

"Then who-?"

Max gasped and looked at his shoulder to find sparks of electricity encircling his arm. As he looked, Isaac's eyes opened and met his in a cold stare- at least they would have, had Isaac's eyes been there. Instead, they were replaced with blue lights bright enough to make Max blink. "That would be me." His voice was icy, rigid… miserable. His legs that had been hanging loosely at Max's waist curled up so that the soles of his feet touched Max's lower back. One hand landed behind his shoulder and the other pointed down at his back from an upwards angle. With a strong burst of wind, Max was face-first on the ground and Isaac flipped off of him, smirking as Isabel and Ed went up-in-arms. Isaac stood, skin still deathly pale with bags still under his eyes- but his posture changed and he looked like a stranger- violent. "You can't be serious!" Ed screeched, backing away. His brush was held defensively in front of him- but not offensively. "Isaac! It's us! We're your friends, remember?" Isabel's voice sounded confident, but her bones were shaking under her skin.

"What friends?" He created a lightning cloud and ran his leg through it. "I don't seem to remember having any of those." As his foot landed heavily on the ground, Isabel and Ed jumped out of the way, very nearly getting hit. Isabel scowled and ran at him, umbrella in hand as she swung at him. "What are you doing, Isaac? We're trying to get you home!" Each word was enunciated by a swing she took at him- each was a miss as he moved from side-to-side with ease. "It's nothing personal, Isabel." He turned suddenly on his heel so that when she moved forward, he was behind her. He grabbed onto her hurt shoulder roughly. "Oh wait, yeah it is." Electricity sprung through the entire left side of her body.

Isabel had never felt a pain like that, hot, burning vines of power coursing through her body as Isaac pressed deeper and deeper into her shoulder. She shrieked. "AHHHHH!"

"Izzy!" Ed was rushing towards the two at an alarming speed, a drawn whip in his hand. Isaac laughed and pressed a foot to Isabel's back, releasing his hold on her shoulder and bouncing off of her. She gasped for air (because she was crying? When did she start crying?) and coughed, falling to the ground.

Ed swung sporadically at Isaac in much the same way Isabel had. Isaac sidestepped easily and even made a point of sticking his hands in his pockets. "How long are you going to keep this up for?"

"I don't wanna fight you, Isaac!"

"Well, that makes one of us."

Isaac shifted and lifted his leg and brought it down onto Ed's shoulder then sent another kick to his stomach, sending him flying across the road.

_Give in to your anger. Let it guide you. Let it tell you what's right._

Isaac nodded and landed on both of his feet as Ed fell crudely and rolled like a barrel down the road for a few feet. "I've always known I could beat you guys but I didn't think it'd be this easy." He only got to the word 'be' before he felt a strong tug at the collar of his shirt. Isaac gasped as he was jerked around and pushed into a tree, a metal bat pressed horizontally along his collarbone. Max breathed in and out unevenly, eyes filled with anger and something else Isaac couldn't see. He pressed against Isaac threateningly, pushing the bat even further against his neck. "Give him back."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I don't know who you are, but you are not Isaac and I want him back. Now."

Isaac snickered and tilted his head. Max could see playfulness behind his illuminated eyes. "Pfft, what makes you think I'm not me? I'm completely me!"

"Isaac would never hurt his friends!"

Isaac's smirk dissipated and Max could see a hint of the old Isaac there, creeping up behind whatever wall he'd put up. "You're right… I would never hurt my friends."

Then the smirk was back and Max felt like the wind was punched out of him- literally- as Isaac pressed the tips of his pointer and middle fingers to his stomach and pushed him away with a strong gust. "Too bad I've never had any." Max hit the tree across from where he'd pushed Isaac- hard. He inhaled heavily and slid down the tree, releasing his grip on his bat and letting it fall beside him.

"Kids!"

Isaac's hands clenched into fists at his sides as he heard the noise come from behind him. Mister Spender was running at full speed, face contorted with fear to see his students knocked out. "Isaac! What happened?!"

He stopped quickly when Isaac turned. The anger was there- solid, irrational, and distressing. "Isaac?"

Isaac didn't say anything. He instead turned on his heel and ran off the road and into the forest surrounding the path.

Spender didn't seem him again.


	4. Chapter 4

"Perhaps we should contact the higher-ups…" Zarei wrapped Isabel's arm in a bandage. Even through the squeaks and groans of pain, Zarei ignored Isabel's wincing and continued her work. "You know we can't do that."

"Richard…" Her tone was menacing. Spender sighed and leaned against the wall. He knew it was his job to report anything that could be detrimental to the future of Mayview. He knew he'd get in trouble but…

Zarei's expression softened as she finished wrapping Isabel's arm. She patted her on her good shoulder and sent her off with a warning- that she wouldn't patch her up next time she wasn't careful. Isabel pouted and rolled her eyes, but seemed to agree to her terms still and ran off to find Ed. When Isabel was a safe distance away, Zarei turned back to Spender, who'd turned to the side. He shrouded himself in shadows to keep her from seeing his face. She knew him though, and she knew what he was feeling and why he felt it.

"I know. Isaac is your student. You don't want to ruin his chances with the Activity Consortium any more than he's already ruined them himself, but you have a duty to your peers and to Mayview."

"I also have a duty to my students."

She didn't respond sarcastically like he'd expected. Instead, she stood and wiped her clothes off and waited for him to continue wordlessly. He looked at her just to see her face. She remained still with her hands folded in front of her, eyes narrowed and full of pity.

He hated pity.

"He didn't choose to take any of those actions back there. He's being manipulated by something I couldn't protect him from. This is something I didn't teach him how to fend off for himself and now I'm expected to mark him off as a personal failure? I'm supposed to call him a traitor? I can't just do that… I can't." He spoke with venom in his voice and he wasn't sure of his target. Was this anger for BL? Was it disappointment in fate for putting him in this set of shoes? No, he recognized this as self-hatred- and he was taking it out on (possibly) the only person he could trust.

Zarei didn't make a sound. She watched him with motionless eyes and stood still. Then she nodded. "If that's your choice then I will follow your lead."

Of course. Spender smiled. He should have known…

"Thank you."

"Don't expect me to do this again."

"I'll try not to put you in this position next time."

If it came down to it, regardless of what she said, Zarei would do the same thing over again. They both knew it.

* * *

><p>- Ed's Room -<p>

They only heard Ed's game.

He was a pretty good player and was able to avoid obstacles pretty effortlessly. Jumping over barrels and climbing up vines wasn't so hard for him. He could save the princess and get a high score with no problems. Ed was an excellent player, but every now and then they'd hear the unsatisfactory sound of his character's death. It was always the same part. The game could throw any other hurdle it wanted at him and he'd survive. But to pit him against the boss (a dark version of the sprite he played) was to ensure that he'd lose almost immediately. That wasn't to say Ed didn't try to put up a fight, but the end result was always the same- a quick fight and a game over screen.

Isabel lay on the ground, blowing a piece of loose-leaf paper up into the air again and again just so that it could land where it once had been. Max sat on Ed's bed, watching him play the same level over and over again. Each time he'd start anew, Max would get his hopes up. Maybe Ed would beat the boss this time? Alas, it was something the future didn't seem to hold.

"I can't believe that just happened."

Isabel raised her forearm over her eyes just as the paper fell. "Please tell me that didn't just happen."

"I wish it didn't." Max mumbled.

It hadn't been an easy fight and, though their physical wounds were plain to see, the scars that ran deeper were far more obvious. They were dealing with it in their own way. Ed took to ignoring his problems. Isabel tried to rationalize it over and over again, even though she always came back with nothing. Max didn't know how he was handling it. His hand grazed his stomach where the tips of Isaac's fingers had pushed him away. What he felt was different: he felt the memory of Isaac's hands wrapped snugly around his waist in absolute fear as they passed trees and spirits by. He vaguely remembered Isaac screaming because what stuck with him was the laughter burrowed under the surface, instead. He didn't want to think about the way Isaac's inhuman eyes glared back at him as he pressed his bat to his neck- it hadn't felt right. That wasn't Isaac, but at the same time there was something about him that felt so unbelievably real.

It was anger- Isaac's anger. It was whatever he repressed and dealt with every day because that was all he could do. Nobody would listen and, if they did, they'd deal with him the way they always did- more secrets.

Instead of wondering why, he was beginning to wonder how it hadn't happened sooner.

"You should probably spend the night, Max." Isabel murmured from under the paper that fell flat on her face. "Going back home might just put your family in danger if they come looking to take us on at night."

"Right… I'll call my Dad, then."

"Grandpa doesn't pay the phone bill because I'm pretty sure he thinks it's dead weight. You have to use your cellphone."

"Sure, whatever."

Eventually Max stood on the empty training grounds with his cell to his ear as he waited for his father to pick up. It took a few rings, but he heard an excitable "Hello?" on the other end soon enough.

"Father."

"Son."

"Just calling to let you know I'm spending the night at my friend's house."

"Are you guys sure you don't wanna come here, instead? We just stocked up on a whole lotta' candy!"

"Dad we sell those to customers!"

"What's your point?"

Max sighed and slapped himself. "Goodnight, Dad."

"Max?"

"Yeah?"

"Is everything alright?"

Max had to pull the phone away from his ear to look at it twice. When he was sure of what he'd heard, he pulled it back to his ear. "Y-Yeah, everything's fine. Why?"

"You're sounding a little down." Leave it to his Dad to pick up on the smallest traces of whatever he was feeling in his voice. "I just, uh, think I lost a friend today is all."

"Why would you think that?"

Max's lips tightened and he frowned. "Just we uh… got into a fight today."

"Did you say something you can't take back? Like 'LOL you're a pansy' or 'Your memeing sucks'?"

Max groaned and leaned his head back. "You still don't know what any of those mean, Dad!" He rubbed the bridge of his nose and pressed further on. "No. I'm more worried about what I left unsaid more than anything."

"Tell them."

"What?"

"Just tell them."

"Dad that's-!"

"Max, do you know what my first words to your Mother were?"

Max raised an eyebrow. "How does that have anything to do with-?"

"Nothing. The first time I saw your mother I didn't say a word. I saw her from a distance and I just knew…" He heard a wistful sigh on the other end and he felt himself slipping into nostalgia, too. Memories flooded back- his mom's laugh, her tattoos, how cool she was… "I had a cool pick-up line and everything and I never used it. I regretted that for the longest time. I was lucky that whatever deity that is gave me a second chance." Max sat down and crossed his legs. "My point is, if you need to say it- say it. You might not get lucky and get a second chance."

Max felt his stomach drop. "I think that chance has come and gone, Dad."

"You never know, son! A few genuine words can go a long way and make a misunderstanding a lot easier on both of you."

Max sighed and stared down. Could that really work? "I should probably get to sleep."

"Call me when you're on your way home! It's taco night tomorrow!"

"Yeah yeah… Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"When you actually talked to Mom, what were your first words to her?"

There was a snicker from the other end.

"'Baby doll? Where you get all them swords?' We were at a comic convention so it was perfect."

Max groaned, said goodnight, and hung up the phone. He somehow felt like the entire situation with Isaac had some sort of a light at the end of the tunnel- he hoped, anyway.

* * *

><p>- Isabel's Room -<p>

"What are you drawing?"

Isabel glanced up from her notebook where she'd been scrawling notes and pictures all over the open page in pencil. Ed stood at her doorway in his footie pajamas, leaning against the frame gingerly as to not upset her. She gave him a weak smile and shrugged, scooching to the side and patting a place on her bed right next to her. Ed took the invitation amiably. Just from the way he walked she recognized he was happy to take the seat. She pulled her legs up and sat crisscrossed, waving the notebook in Ed's direction. "You wanna see?"

"Sure!"

As she awaited Ed's response, Isabel looked around her room. There were pictures of dogs everywhere she could see. She wondered why she did that to herself. "It's us." There was no shock in his voice, but she heard the sentimental wave of emotion. By us, he meant everyone: her, him, Max, Mister Spender- and Isaac. "Yeah, it's from that one time we rode the ghost train."

"I can tell. Agent Day is in the background, too."

"It wouldn't have been right to leave her out of it. She saved Max's life, after all." Isabel thought about that mission a lot- not just because it was recent, but because she felt like so much had been lost. It was like bonds had been severed and all them were rushing to try frantically to tie the strings back together again.

"Nobody told him." Ed mumbled.

"About Agent Day being an… Agent?"

"Yeah…"

There was a beat of silence. Ed continued staring blankly down at Isabel's amateurish sketches and Isabel faced her lap.

"We should have."

"Yeah…"

Isabel then realized that there was the stain of a line under Ed's glasses that ran down his cheeks.

She frowned and rolled the sleeve of her nightshirt over her hand and ran it along the pale streaks on his skin. Ed leaned into the touch.

His expression wasn't so empty anymore.


	5. Chapter 5

"I knew this was here already." Isaac mumbled, glaring up at the bubble surrounding Mayview. "Why are you showing me the force field?"

"Because that's what I'm here to break."

"Break?" Isaac frowned at Conall, who floated not two feet away from him. "Yes- break."

"You mean we're going to-?"

"Destroy the cage. Yes."

Isaac crossed his arms. "Why are we doing that?"

"I'm assuming they haven't told you why it's up?"

"To keep malevolent spirits and ghosts out-?"

"To keep Mayview's spectrals inside."

Conall took a spectral shot at it and grew agitated when bullet hit the wall and dissipated almost instantly. "You remember the death mission I told you about?"

Isaac nodded.

"They told us they wanted our help to take it down- said we had to fuel up some type of machine and the wall would come down."

"What happened?"

"Most of us were new. We didn't really have any sort of bond with our spirits, yet. The machine needed more than what we had. When we went to power it up, it sucked our bodies right into its tank."

Isaac winced. Even if Conall couldn't see his pupils with the brightness of his abilities, he could tell there was fear in his eyes. "Are they... are they still-?"

"For all I know."

Isaac gulped. That was a horrifying thought. Why would the activity consortium do that? It didn't make any sense!

"That's why I've merged with you."

"You what?"

"All of that power you're feeling? That's not just you, Isaac."

Isaac frowned and looked down at his hand, clenching and unclenching it just to feel the power surging through his veins. It was a rush- but it wasn't any different from how he usually felt. He supposed Conall was talking about the clarity that came like an epiphany after he'd defeated the club- like he thought he would. "That's me."

"Meaning what?" Isaac's eyes met Conall's with a sense of confidence but just enough caution.

"I mean that I've… merged with you- I suppose is the right way to say that?"

"You've possessed me?"

"Indirectly."

"What does that even mean?!"

Conall exhaled and moved from side-to-side as if awkward about what he was saying. He fairly well may have been. Isaac prepared for the worst. "You remember the pain in your neck, yes?"

Isaac's eyes narrowed in recognition.

"That was my aura. I fashioned a clump of it and passed it through your flesh."

Isaac had not been prepared for that. "What?! How did you even do that?! You could've killed me!" A successful merge was probably the last thing that could have happened- what if that ball of energy caused a blood clot in his neck? What would have happened then?

Suddenly he remembered why he wasn't supposed to trust this ghost. Yes, Conall was a man of justice, but he attacked his friends and-

"They aren't your friends."

"I hate that you can do that!" Isaac growled and shot lightning above Conall's shoulder. "Get out of my head!" Conall smirked and shrugged. Just like that, the awkwardness was lost and he was back to his justice-teaching persona. It was almost unnerving to Isaac. "Remember this, child: I care about you more than anybody else in this world. I hurt them because they were dragging you down and clouding your principles. They didn't deserve you."

Conall made a speedy move forward that threw Isaac off-guard. He brought his face close to Isaac's- enough that Isaac could feel a cold breath on his face that chilled his body. He found himself taking a step back almost instinctually. "Justice is the most important thing and you lost sight of it." The leer on Conall's face deepened with covetousness. "I will protect you. I will stand by your side. I will keep you where you belong. Do not cross me, boy. I am all you have left."

Isaac faced the ground, sulking. He was right. He only had the idea of 'the right thing', and in his time with the activity club he'd forgotten that. He'd become sidetracked by things like friendship and family- enough to lose sight of his integrity. When Conall pulled away Isaac felt calmness wash over him. Yes. He had a job to do.

"So what were you saying? Why did you merge with me?"

"I desire to know why we were sent to our deaths. Of course, I doubt getting that information would be easy." Conall crossed his hands behind his back and paced back and forth between the trees and the force-field. "That's another reason we must take this barrier down."

"Another reason?"

"The other is to do what we were sent to do- set the spirits and ghosts and spectrals of Mayview free. I indirectly possessed you so that the machine recognizes the bond formed between you and me, instead."

Isaac grimaced. That didn't sound like a concrete plan. Forming a bond between spirit and spectral took much more than a shared aura. "You're sure that will work?"

"No, but this is the right thing to do so we must try."

While slightly irritated Conall had made this decision for him, Isaac couldn't have said that he disagreed. He probably would have chosen to help, regardless.

Isaac shoved his hands in his pockets. "What do we need to do?"

* * *

><p>- Isabel's and Ed's House -<p>

Max woke up sandwiched between a cuddly Isabel and a drooling Ed. He suddenly regretted agreeing to sleep anywhere near them last night.

Of course, it was better that they did. Missing Isaac was like having a cold cloud over them wherever they went. No matter how much heat they produced by spending time together and mutually comforting each-other, there was something absent.

That wasn't to say they were just going to accept that feeling.

"Ugh, guys get off me. I can't breathe."

"Oh shut up." Isabel yawned and looked up at him from where her head laid on his chest. Her hair fell messily upon her shoulders and across Max's arms. "You could breathe just fine all night. You're just mad 'cause we're too close for comfort."

Ed's head perked up from Max's knees, as he had been rather preoccupied wrapping around his legs like a snake. He yawned and stretched across the length of Max's body. "What time is it?"

"I don't know."

"My phone's on the charger. Let me check." Isabel reached to her left and pulled on the charger wire, yanking the line over so that her phone came within reach. When she managed to click the home button, she groaned loudly, tossing her head back in disapproval. "Max it's like 10:00."

"That's the time normal people get up at."

She groaned again.

"Maaaax we're not normal."

Max sat up, knocking Isabel into his lap and sent Ed rolling to the floor. "Get up, you lazy freaks."

Both kids complained and remained face-down, buried in the carpet and blankets and pillows. Max stood up and reached for his Insolent Children jacket, tossing it on and walking out the door of Ed's room.

He sighed and stretched, wincing when he felt a dull pain. His back was killing him. At the time, sleeping on the floor hadn't seemed like such a bad idea, considering Ed's and Isabel's bed was too small. Come morning, Max had completely forgotten how he'd rationalized the pain he knew he'd feel.

Well, he remembered that he'd felt awfully cold…

Rounding the corner and walking into the kitchen, he found Mister Spending sitting at the kitchen counter, a heavy mug of coffee in one hand- a book in the other. Max stopped short and raised an eyebrow. "Um, you okay?"

The teacher seemed to jerk from his thoughts, very nearly dropping his mug as he twisted to look at Max. Upon seeing him now, Max knew he hadn't slept. He didn't look as bad as Isaac had, but there was something hefty upon his shoulders. "Maxwell! I didn't… I didn't see you there."

"I can't imagine you're seeing much of anything at all right now. How are you still awake?"

Spender held up his cup and turned back to his book. "Right…" Max strode toward the fridge and yanked it open. Upon realizing there were only protein shakes in there, he stuck his tongue out and closed the fridge. "How did you kids sleep?"

"Not very well." Regardless of Ed's slobbering and Isabel's snuggling, he'd felt them twist and turn in the middle of the night, shifting every five minutes as if looking for a comfortable position.

He knew because his thoughts kept him awake.

"This will be dealt with soon enough."

"When you say dealt with, what do you mean?"

Spender didn't answer. He only sipped his coffee and turned to the next page. When Max accepted his silence begrudgingly, he took the seat across from him and laid his head down on the table.

Isabel and Ed came running in no less than two minutes later, Isabel carrying frying pans and Ed opening cabinets as he scavenged for food. Max groaned and turned his head away as the kitchen became a loud, obnoxious fireplace.

* * *

><p>- An Hour Later -<p>

"We found him."

Spender nearly spit out his fifth cup of coffee, but he choked it back and swallowed what he'd sipped. When he was sure the coffee was down the hole, he closed his book and looked at Doctor Zarei. "Where is he?"

"Richard you look horrible."

"Yes, I know. Where is he?"

Zarei frowned and motioned towards the front door- but something told him Isaac hadn't come looking for a fight at the dojo all by himself. "When I fell asleep, I mentioned to Boss Leader that one of your students had been kidnapped by Conall's ghost."

"Doctor Zarei-!"

"Relax." She held a hand up as a sign for him to be silent. Once he bit both his lips and ran a nervous hand through his hair, she continued. "I didn't mention any specifics. She only knows it is a student- not which student."

Spender nodded so she would continue.

"Conall plans on taking Isaac to Man's Rise Cave- the one on the outskirts of town."

That was bad news- very bad news.

"So he plans on using Isaac to destroy the barrier."

"That seems to be the idea, yes." Zarei paused and set her hands on her hips. "I don't think that's all he intends to do, Richard."

"It's absolutely not his only goal."

"What do you suppose that is?"

Spender raised his mug and took another long sip of his coffee. It was unpleasant. Usually he put copious amounts of sugar in to distract him from the taste, but he'd decided the bitterness would keep him awake. Once he was done, he set the mug back down with an unceremonious amount of strength and stood. "He wants revenge for his death."

Zarei's eyes widened. "You don't mean-!"

Spender frowned and walked across the room, heading up the stairs in a rush to get his students. "We'll just have to stop him before it comes to that."

* * *

><p>- Man's Rise Cave -<p>

"So Isaac's in there?" Ed asked, hands pressed to the window of the car. His nostrils scrunched up against the bridge of his nose as he pressed his face to the glass.

"Yes. Ed, please stop doing that to my car."

Ed snickered and pulled away, rubbing his nose.

Isabel glanced out the window and frowned. "What is Conall making him do?" Max fiddled with his bat in the back seat, twirling it in his lap as he thought. He wasn't looking forward to facing off against Isaac, again. The notion left him feeling sick to his stomach and, quite frankly, it wasn't a feeling he very much enjoyed. His fingers traced his stomach where Isaac had shot him and he grimaced. Why hadn't he done anything? Why did he just let this happen? He'd thought long and hard about what his Dad said over the phone, but he just couldn't see himself looking Isaac in the eyes (where his eyes should be) and telling him that he-!

"Conall aims to take down the barrier around Mayview."

"Oh, well that's not so bad-!"

"He means to take Isaac with him when he crosses over."

"Oh my god!"

"How would he go about doing that, exactly?" Max felt his heart racing, but he kept a straight face. They hadn't lost Isaac yet… he hoped. "If he's done what I think he's done and merged his aura with Isaac's, then when he tries to collect what he shared, he'll just not make the effort to separate Isaac's from his accordingly."

"And that'll kill him?"

"Yes. An aura is a reflection of your soul. To take his aura would be to take everything that makes Isaac- Isaac- away."

"But then why don't normal people have auras?"

"They aren't broadcasting to spirits and ghosts that they are aware of their existence, therefor, they don't need to emit an aura and reflect their soul."

"Oh… That's… okay then."

* * *

><p>"So what do I do?"<p>

"Just walk up to the hole, concentrate, and give it your power."

Isaac stared down at the CD-sized hole, exhaling at the pressure of the situation. Everything was running around in his head and he couldn't seem to truly take hold of one particular thought and hold to it for more than a minute. It was like he'd lost his ability to concentrate- like something was fighting with him to give him the clarity he thought he had. Isaac turned to Conall.

"What's going to happen?"

"It will use your power to create a large spectral shot, which it will use to destroy the barrier!"

"… And set all of the spectrals free?"

"Yes." Isaac nodded and looked back at the hole, running his fingers along the machine's buttons.

"What's going to happen to me?"

Conall smiled and snorted to himself. "You'll be rewarded."

In a few seconds, Conall was behind him, hand directing Isaac's over the hole. Isaac felt the familiar freezing shiver down his back, but he allowed Conall to guide him. "Concentrate on what you want to do, Isaac." As he closed his eyes, Isaac felt the familiar tingle of his electricity upon his hand. It was welcomed in the surrounding air of apprehension.

"Isaac!"

Conall growled and pulled away, hand flaring in spectral light.

The activity club came running down the cave's path, tools and powers at the ready. Isaac's eyes widened and he slowly turned his head to look. "Guys?" It was a soft, astonished whisper that even Conall hardly heard.

_They're here to stop me, Isaac- stop us. This is what needs to be done. Ignore them!_

Isaac felt an anger he was unaccustomed to swell within him. It was something primal, like he was being threatened. He turned back around the face the machine and began to concentrate.

"You can't stop me! It's already too late!" Conall jerked his thumb in Isaac's direction.

"We'll see about that." Spender raised a hand to his glasses, eyebrows narrowing dangerously. "Kids… take care of Isaac. Get him back to normal."

They nodded and went to run to Isaac's side. As they started, a large bolt of lightning went their way. The club just barely managed to move out of the path before they got hit. The three gasped to find Isaac lifting his leg in the air above a thunder cloud. He smirked and cocked his head to the side. "You came looking for me, did you?"

"Isaac! Stop what you're doing! You're under his control!" Max wasn't ready to fight him- he didn't want to fight him. He couldn't fight him!

Isaac's grin disappeared, leaving his lips in a thin line. "No." He leg came crashing down upon the floor, sending bolts of lightning at the other kids. "Kids!" Spender turned away from his showdown gaze with Conall to check on his students. Before he could move toward them, Conall took a spectral shot at his chest and sent him flying into the cave wall. "Tsk, tsk, tsk! You know better Mister Spender." Conall mocked, voice frustratingly offensive.

As each kid yelped and the lightning struck their bodies, they fell to the ground- dazed. Isaac began walking toward them, hand cracking as he summoned more of his powers. "I'm afraid I have control for once- which means you don't."


	6. Chapter 6

"ED!" Isabel screeched as a heavy gust of wind lifted Ed off his feet and sent him flying into the roof of the cave. Isaac watched the blonde fight to get away from the wind. He held Max by his hair, the cap knocked away somewhere in Max's struggles to remove Isaac's grip. He hadn't succeeded, and thus hung limply as his hands pried at his captor's. Isaac chuckled, the blue of his illuminated eyes flashing. "Oh, you want to get out of the wind? I'm sorry; maybe I can arrange that if we found some common ground!"

Isaac dissipated the wind and, just like that, Ed was falling at alarming speeds. Isabel rushed forward from her spot across the way to catch him, but she was too late and Ed collided with the hardened dirt. Ed gasped in pain, feeling the numbness that came before the-!

Ed screamed out and jerked, finding it hard to move the way he wanted to. Every bone felt broken. He didn't even know how he was moving.

With Ed out of the way, Isaac glanced down at Max. "Now for you-!" A bat hit his face. Isaac yelped and moved back, holding his nose in his hand. "Gah!" He grimaced and moved his fingers so that he could see Max's rising form.

Max reached for his cap and stood, placing it on his head so that the rim hid his eyes. "I didn't want to fight you- but you're not Isaac." He pulled his bat in front of him, black aura circling around him as he prepared himself for combat. Max glared up at Isaac, eyes filled with revulsion and ferocity. "So I'm gonna take you down with no mercy, you hear me?!"

Isaac snorted and stood up straight, wiping the blood he'd found dripping from his nose. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

><p>Spender dodged punches from Conall, left and right. Conall was fast- but he was faster.<p>

"What's the matter?" Conall hissed at Spender's sudden comment. "Can't hit me?"

Conall threw another punch and Spender ducked, tossing an uppercut. The punch hit and Conall yelled out as he fell, landing on his back as Spender stood over him. The teacher cracked his hands as his aura began to grow around them. "You're manipulating one of my students and placing everybody in Mayview in danger! You're going to pay for that."

Conall chuckled and grabbed his chin, massaging where the fist hit him. That would leave a bruise if he wasn't a ghost. "You'll be the one to pay, Richard Spender- you and the entire organization you work for!"

Spender frowned and created a muscle arm with his aura. "Maybe, but not today and not by your hand!"

* * *

><p>Max's swing came in contact with Isaac's side. The medium inhaled sharply and coughed as he went sailing to the ground, rolling. He managed to stop himself before he came into contact with the cave wall, scowling and baring his teeth at the batter. "You're going to regret that."<p>

Isaac dug his nails into the dirt of the cave.

Max shrugged sardonically. "What are you doing? Turning into a werewolf-?" Then he felt it- the electricity Isaac shot at him reached up from the ground and surrounded him. He screamed as the shock rendered him temporarily paralyzed. Isabel, who had been cradling Ed in her arms, took this as an opportunity to attack. With umbrella in hand, she lunged at Isaac, who narrowly sidestepped from her attack. "What? Did I get you angry, too?"

"Isaac! Snap out of it!" Twisting on her heel in time to miss a bolt of lightning at her head, she kicked and hit his arm. Isaac barked and moved the direction the kick sent him to avoid friction. "Think about what you're doing!"

"I've thought a lot about what I'm doing!"

He sent a chilling wind her way, and when she moved to avoid it, it wrapped around and pushed her toward him. Isaac was waiting at the other end of the line, leg lit with thunder. Isabel gasped and braced for impact. Isaac swung his leg across her face.

She rolled and eventually landed on her back, groaning and twitching.

"I'm doing what's right! What my selfish wants were distracting me from…"

* * *

><p>Conall winced as punch after punch hit him smack in the face. Spender sat on both sides of him, swinging heatedly. Rage ran through him for reasons he didn't understand. What was it about this ghost that made him so livid? Why couldn't he stop throwing punches? Why couldn't he calm down?<p>

Then a thought occurred to him- what if it wasn't his anger?

Spender inhaled as Conall's fist came in contact with his stomach. The ghost snickered. "Figured it out, did you?" As Conall twisted into him, Spender felt a sudden terror fall over him. His eyes widened. "This- this is your power? You… don't manipulate or read minds!" Spender coughed as he began to shiver in the dread that threatened to overtake him. He felt paralytic. "You play on the emotions of others!"

Conall chuckled menacingly, eyes tightening. "He won't believe you if you tell him."

"What…" The teacher grunted and winced. "What makes you think that?"

"Why Mister Spender!" Conall hooted and tossed his head back, laughing. The panic got worse and Spender was fighting just to stay sane as he was choked by the tightness of his chest. It only took a moment for Conall's face to become distorted in violent satisfaction. "You're not going to live that long!"

* * *

><p>Ed looked over from where he struggled to stand, hand holding his throat as he coughed out the dust he'd inhaled. He looked determined and maybe even wild. But when he laid his eyes upon his teacher's fight, his expression fell.<p>

"MISTER SPENDER!"

From across the cave, he coughed out blood. His eyes were wide behind his glasses. A spectral sword stuck out his lower back, covered in what could only be…

Isaac stopped his fist in midair, hovering above Isabel, to look over and see what had happened. Isabel, who was pulling on Isaac's sweater, stopped trying to push him off as her eyes found the fight. Max sat back on his butt, rubbing his head to mend the bruise forming, and followed everyone's line of sight.

Simultaneously, their hearts stopped.

Spender fell against Conall's chest like a dead weight.

The ghost groaned and shoved him to the side, where the teacher fell limply and laid there- panting, so he could stand. Isaac's jaw dropped and the blue lights in his eyes flickered, his pupils flashing as if fighting for control. Tears welled in Isabel's eyes and she gasped, mouth opening and closing but she only made strangled sounds. Isaac felt his stomach drop and, against his will, he whimpered.

"S… Sir? Mister- Mister Spender?"

Max's pupils shrank. No way. There was no way this was happening.

Conall stood and brushed himself off, laughing as he wiped dirt away from his mouth- only covering his cheek in blood. He glanced down at Spender and shrugged. "Well that was quicker than I thought it would be."

Isabel yelped as Isaac dropped her and stood up, hands in fists at his sides. "You- You killed him!"

"He's not dead yet, Isaac."

"But- But he's-!"

Conall's eyes narrowed. "He was going to get in our way."

"But-!"

"This is for the greater good, Isaac."

Isabel momentarily wandered to look at Isaac, tears falling as she clawed at the dirt beneath her. She saw the doubt in him- she saw that she had a chance. "Isaac…!"

He looked back over at her, panic overcoming him. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen Isabel and Ed cry- and even fewer times they'd openly shown him they were. Yet there Isabel sat, watching him with eyes that seemed akin to waterfalls. He glanced at Ed, who was looking at him in a similar way. His glasses hid his eyes, but the crease in his brows and the downward twitching of his lips told Isaac everything he needed to know. He felt a sudden weight on his shoulders- heavy enough that he considered falling to the ground and just begging for it all to go away. He wanted to scream. He wanted to be left alone.

He wished none of this ever happened. "Isaac you…!" Ed tried to speak, but he didn't know what to say.

_They're blaming this on you…_

Isaac took a step away from Isabel. "N-No! No!"

Conall's aura grew darker as he clenched his fists. _Look at them. They're terrified of you- they hate you._

Isaac looked to Max, who watched him in (what Isaac assumed to be) resentment from behind the shadow of his cap. Isaac pulled on his spiky hair, shaking violently and nodding back and forth. "No! No, no, no, no! It's not my-! I didn't-!" Tears bucketed down his cheeks like the growing storm he felt tearing at him from the depths of his stomach. It wasn't supposed to be like this! He never meant to hurt them like this! All he wanted was peace… recognition.

The activity club watched him in bewilderment. "What…?" Ed started as he helped Isabel to her feet. "What's happening?" Max scowled. He didn't have an answer.

He twisted to look to Conall.

The ghost seemed concentrated- out of the loop and certainly out of his mind. What was he so focused on? Why wasn't he talking to Isaac to get him to-?

Max's eyes widened.

"Isabel! Ed!"

His sudden call startled them and they looked his way. "Conall is playing with Isaac's mind! We have to interrupt him!"

Isabel and Ed turned to the ghost, and then exchanged looks as they nodded.

Max stood as Isabel and Ed ran at Conall, Isabel swinging her umbrella and Ed drawing a pick-axe. Isaac bent in on himself, shivering and whimpering as he pulled his hair. "No… No it's not... I- I didn't! Please... please no…"

With a deep breath and a surge of determination, Max placed his bat on his back and hesitantly approached the medium.

"Isaac?"

"I didn't… I didn't mean to! I didn't think- oh my god I didn't think this would-!" He weeped and became even more distant, bending in further like that would make everything and everyone disappear. Max smiled gently and placed a tender hand on Isaac's shoulder. "Hey, we know that. This isn't your fault, Stormy."

Things took a turn for the worse as Isaac grabbed Max's hand and threw him against a nearby wall. On impact, Max winced and shielded his head. Isaac's hands landed on the wall above his shoulders, bursting with electricity. When Max finally built up the courage to move his arms away from his face and open his eyes, he saw Isaac's own pair of eyes flickering between normality and possession. "No, you're lying… you're lying! I'll be blamed for this- just like before!" Before? He must have been talking about what happened for Isaac to lose the consortium's trust.

"No, you won't be!" Max winced as a spark of lightning came dangerously close to his eye. "I know you think the world is against you, Isaac- but it's not!"

"Yeah…" The medium sniffed and snarled. "It's just you guys!"

Max felt his heart skip a beat- and not in the way it usually did.

"N-No… No, Isaac listen-!"

Before he could say another word, Isabel came flying and landed in the wall right next to them. She grunted and slid down the dent she left. Isaac pulled one hand away, turning to look at Conall as he held Ed by the throat. Ed growled and struggled, thrashing around in the ghost's grasp- much to his amusement.

"Hah, hah! Fight all you want, child! This is Mayview's fate!"

With that he tossed Ed to the other side of the room across from Isabel, who was holding her shoulder and moaning in pain. Max bared his teeth and faced the ground. This was worse than he thought. Isaac wasn't entirely under Conall's control, but his emotions were too vehement and uncontrollable for any of them to get through to him. They were going to need help if they were going to have any chance at beating Conall.

"Children!"

He grinned.

That chance had arrived right on time in the form of Doctor Mina Zarei.

Her hands were already at her glasses, eyes narrowed furiously as she scanned the room. When she found her coworker resting on the ground with a gaping wound in his stomach, she knew she had been right in her suspicions. "Conall!"

"And you would be Miss…?"

"Doctor, you ignorant ruffian- Doctor Zarei." Her aura shot up: it was green and alarming and somehow Max felt much safer knowing she was there. Conall tossed his head back and laughed from his belly. "Oh ho ho! I see! Forgive me, Doctor Zarei, I just- you know- haven't been alive for 20-something years!"

"That's your mistake- not ours!"

She had him. Conall's large, threatening smile turned into an eerie and terrifying sneer. "Is it- is it really?"

"Had you not betrayed Boss Leader like the rest of the souls who rest here, then perhaps you wouldn't have been sentenced to death!"

"She left us no choice!" Conall seemed to grow 3 feet; roaring as his aura came oozing out like liquid ashes. "It was either protect the activity consortium- or protect Mayview!"

"To protect one is to protect the other!"

"Or so you think! You're brainwashed! You've been made to believe you do what is best- but it's all in the interest of some shady woman in bandages!"

Conall gasped as a whip hit his back suddenly. Zarei brandished a whip with a proud smile on her lips.

She laughed. "If you want to play this game, I'll show you what I can do!"

Conall's expression darkened. He had a job to do. "Isaac?"

There was a silence as Isaac pulled entirely away from Max and the wall, head hanging heavy against his slumped shoulders. "Yes?"

"Power the machine. Don't let these hypocrites get in your way."

Isaac nodded and turned to the hole. "Got it."

In a last ditch effort, Max jumped at him and wrapped his arms around Isaac from behind. He couldn't let Isaac do this! His father and his sister were living in Mayview! If the shield was taken down, they'd be placed in even more danger than they already were. "No! Stop! Don't do it!"

Isaac reached over his shoulder and yanked heavily on Max's jacket, tossing him above his shoulder so that he landed on his back. Max squeaked as he hit the ground. What could he do to stop him? What was there to say? He cracked an eye open to find Isaac, eyes shining bright blue, looming over him.

Oh no.

Isaac kicked him across the room- hard. Max yelled out as he rolled, holding his side. The medium exhaled and shook his head, disappointed. "Really thought this would be harder."

As Isaac crossed over Max's body to reach the machine, he felt a hand grasp the end of his jeans.

He groaned and looked down to find Max clinging desperately to his ankle. "Max, cut that out. It's over."

"Do-n't-!" Max wheezed, trying to recover from the kick to his side. "… Don't do th-is."

"Fine- have it your way."

Isaac kicked Max off his ankle and forced him to lay flat by pushing his foot down on his shoulder, causing Max to cry out. Lightning paused right in front of Max's face, dancing as Isaac steadied the shot from his palm. "Have anything to say to me, Max?" The corner of Isaac's mouth twitched downward. He had total power over Max. He could kill him in one shot and yet the activity club still favored him. Isaac could disappear and the activity club would be satisfied. He felt the familiar tug of rejection in his chest. Max had everything he ever wanted- friends, family, information- and it made him sick to think he could rip that away. Isaac's eyes began to sting but he shut his eyes tightly and forced the building water back down. This wasn't just for him and his jealousy- this was for the justice that was needed! "One last thing before I take you down?" Yet he couldn't find it in himself to find the grit needed to kill the batter.

Max squirmed under Isaac's foot, holding tight to Isaac's wrist to try and pull his hand away. When Max saw there was no sign of the boy's wrath subsiding, Isaac felt the sweaty hands on his skin fall flat on either side of his body. Max was giving up.

Isaac frowned. That wasn't like Max at all.

He told himself not to do it- but he had to. He moved his hand away: just enough to see his face.

It was contorted in pain- pain he'd never seen on anyone's face before. It wasn't a physical pain- there was a deep inner turmoil wreaking havoc on the spectral below him. Even though Max held steady eyes, his lips clearly shook under Isaac's hand. The medium felt ashamed.

"Isa… Isaac!"

His voice came out so forlornly- so miserably- that Isaac lost all determination for the plans he needed to see through. He saw Max squirm again, but not in an attempt to move away. "Isaac please don't… don't do this." Before Isaac could realize what was happening, Max raised a hand to mirror his sparking one, just far enough away so that the lightning wouldn't hurt him, but close enough that Isaac understood what he was trying to say.

_This isn't you._

Max looked him directly in the eyes, scrunching his nose up in a show of hope. Isaac felt a hot trail plummet down his face. A drop of salty water hit his hand and sizzled upon meeting the electricity. Isaac reached his other hand up to touch his cheek. There were tears falling again, burning and coming in groups of five each time he blinked. "You… shut up!" Isaac snarled and pulled away, aggressively ridding his skin of whatever wetness he could feel as he backed up towards the machine.

"Justice needs to be served! This is what needs to be done!" Isaac's arm fell away from his eyes and he grinded his teeth. "I've let my pathetic grasping for your attention get in the way of what was right! I let my immature need for" he snorted "companionship blind me. I've wasted so much time thinking that what I needed was right around the corner! Now I'm going to fix it!"

* * *

><p>Zarei smiled as she pressed her foot against Conall's chest, holding her whip threateningly over his head. "Still think a woman can't run you into the ground?" The ghost winced as she struck the whip against the dirt above his shoulder. "Release your control on the boy."<p>

"Not a chance in he- AH!"

She drove her heel into his chest. "Release him! Now!"

"Hey!" Zarei glanced up, only to gasp as she was shot by a strong gust of wind- right into Spender's bleeding body. Isaac stood with his fingers pointed at where she'd been holding Conall captive.

The ghost stood up slowly- intimidatingly, cackling as he pointed his hand in the doctor's direction. "Hah, hah! You dare think yourself a match for me? Strategy is half the game, my dear!"

Zarei sat up from her spot beside Spender, only to realize there was a bubble surrounding them. "You-!"

"It's a containment bubble, my dear! I think I've had just about enough of you people trying to create chaos where Isaac and I wish to have peace!"

He turned to Isaac expecting a nod of agreement, but received only an icy glare and the shake of his head. Conall frowned: his influence over the medium was slipping. Any moment now he'd lose all control.

"Hurry up and charge the machine."

Indignantly, Isaac stomped in front of the hole once more. After he took a deep breath, he fueled its tank with every ounce of power he had left. The cave started quaking as the machine began to awaken. Yes, this was the right thing to do- Isaac was sure of it.

It had to be the right thing.

"ISAAC, NO!"

Isabel screamed out in terror and in pain, holding her shoulder as tightly as she could to keep it in place. Was it broken? She had no idea. She just knew the pain shooting through her was white and fiery and she could do little to mend it. Heck, she could hardly move with the way the cave was shaking! After Conall's earlier attacks, she felt physically useless. No matter how many times she tried to think about her grandfather ridiculing her for her weakness, she couldn't seem to draw the power she needed to fight. The realization that she was done left her feeling hopeless. What could she do?

Ed laid not far away, resting on his forearms as he struggled to stand. He clasped his throat in an attempt at soothing the bruise around his neck from Conall's grip. There was an attempt made to say something, but with the pain in his throat, Ed couldn't seem to get even a sound passed his lips.

Max held his bat as firmly as he could and slowly began using it to rise up, which was more of a chore than it should have been. Spender held his stomach and choked on his own spit (or was that blood?) as he struggled to sit up. His hand was coated red- it was seeping through his clothes and running at a hazardously rapid pace out of his body. Doctor Zarei's clothes were torn and her hijab sat messily on her head from her battle with Conall, but she paid no attention to the blood staining her- she was more worried about her colleague's wounds. "Stop moving. You'll just make it worse!" She hissed and forced him back down by his shoulders. If he kept moving, he'd open up the stitches from his first fight. The last thing he needed with a gaping stomach was to revisit old injuries. She looked up at the gruesome scene from the spectral bubble Conall had formed. He stood with his arms crossed and the most devilish smile you'd ever see, as if he knew something they didn't.

He did: how to get Isaac back.

Isabel called his name out again, but he could hardly hear her. Isaac's eyes shined blazingly and righteously and it was everything in her for Isabel to not recoil at the sight of them. His hands clenched and she swore she would have seen him roll his eyes if they had been visible. "I've warned you for the last time- don't get in my way!" Isaac turned to face the ghost who nodded his head towards the hole. Isaac turned back in his place to conjure more lightning. "How much longer should it be?"

"Give the machine every inch of you power, Isaac. Let it take your energy so that it can break that barrier!" Max struggled to move his bat, and as he did he noticed Isaac's aura slowly fading. "Oh, come on. Don't-!" He groaned and coughed. His lungs felt shattered and he was pretty sure he had some form of internal bleeding, but that wasn't what he was going to worry about right then. "Don't do this, man!" His voice should have been more confident. He should have been able to keep his emotions in check- just as he usually did, but he couldn't. They were going to lose Isaac and there was nothing they could do, but they had to try- he had to try!

"Why?" Isaac growled and faced Max as he struggled. "Why shouldn't I?"

How had it gotten to this?

Oh, that's right.

Isaac was an agent of judgment and the Activity Club had crimes to answer for.


	7. Chapter 7

"Why?" Isaac growled and faced Max as he struggled. "Why shouldn't I?"

Max had to stop and think about that.

Why shouldn't Isaac go through with it?

He'd been shunned by everybody and tossed aside because of some reason Max didn't know. Secrets had been kept from Isaac- secrets that could have helped keep him out of trouble. He'd told Max about Isabel's and Ed's loop (of course, Isaac hadn't implied anything about being lonely- but if there was one thing Max recognized and understood in a person, it was loneliness). Max knew he must have been feeling so excluded…

Then, all of the sudden, there was this ghost who whined and complained about justice as much as Isaac did. There was somebody who was willing to be with Isaac and tell him what he wanted- needed- to know. Why wouldn't Isaac do what Conall wanted?

He'd probably earned Isaac's loyalty if not his trust.

Max winced. Still, Isaac didn't have Conall's loyalty. "He's planning on killing you."

"Killing me?" Isaac spat Max's words back. "Why would he do that? What purpose would that serve? Please! Do tell me!"

Max groaned. "I am not appreciating the sarcasm Isaac! That is so my thing!" He grumbled as he finally managed to stand up straight. Isaac was listening to him. He had to get through to him somehow. "He wants revenge for his boss killing him!"

"He wants justice!"

"He wants vengeance!" Spender cried out in pain but he forced the words out anyway. "He's using you to get to us, Isaac!"

Isaac looked taken aback. "Well then why not pick somebody else? Isabel is the poster child of the Activity Confederation or whatever it is you're called, right?!"

Isabel frowned. There was jealousy in that tone. Her injuries made it hard for her to breath because they were so fresh and she was already so beaten down, but hearing Isaac so resentful cut her in places she didn't know she could feel.

Zarei shook her head and pushed the teacher down for what must have been the twentieth time. "It's because you have a lack of control of your mind and your powers. You are easy to manipulate."

Isaac nearly laughed her off like it was a joke, but he heard Conall stifle a gulp. With fear in his eyes, he turned to the ghost. "You… is that true?" Conall stared back at the medium, mouth agape. He was struggling to find words. "All of you! Shut up! You don't understand what you're saying!"

Conall suddenly felt a heavy tug at his collar as Isaac yanked him down aggressively so that they were on eye-level. He didn't even say anything: he just stared into Conall's eyes with his own full of rage and aching.

"Tell him, Conall." Spender whispered, grabbing at his stomach wound as firmly as he could while he was talking. "Tell him how twenty years ago you betrayed BL and tried to frame some of her best agents for a crime you committed!" Conall's face twisted furiously in Spender's direction. "Tell Isaac how that's not his anger he's feeling- it's yours! It's your anger and you started feeding him emotions the moment he fought you! Tell him how you can't read his mind: you just read how he's feeling and make assumptions!"

Isaac was looking at his teacher, too, eyes wide and jaw slowly dropping as he came to an epiphany.

He'd messed up.

Conall yelped as the grip on his collar tightened and twisted. He recognized what Isaac was feeling: that was Isaac's fury.

"You waited twenty years for somebody who knew what it felt like to be abandoned. You waited for somebody you could manipulate and that's why you had your eyes set on Isaac!"

"Hush!" Zarei slapped her coworker on the nose. "You're talking too much! If you don't make it out of here it'll be your fault!" Spender looked annoyed that she'd smacked him, but looked confident he'd said what he needed to.

Conall inhaled and shook his head.

"How pitiful that they've resorted to lying, wouldn't you say Isaac-?"

"Shut up."

Conall flinched.

Isaac was facing the ground at an angle the ghost couldn't see his expression from- but he knew. "Shut up. Just shut up! You… I thought that for the first time-!" Isaac choked on his anger- or his tears, whichever one. Perhaps it had been both? "I thought that somebody understood me! I thought that there was a person I could finally talk to- somebody I didn't have to keep a secret!"

The Doorman… Max thought. Isabel and Ed exchanged confused glances.

Conall shivered as Isaac's hand began to shake in his rage, electricity flickering around his knuckles. "For once I thought somebody was on my side!"

The energy subsided and Isaac pulled away, dropping Conall to the floor. On his knees, he glanced up at the medium, surprised he'd been let go. The boy had a knack for in-the-moment aggression. He'd done his research on him, he knew Isaac better than anyone. So why was he so merciful now? Isaac's empty eyes met his. His pupils had returned, but he seemed lifeless- hopeless.

"I guess I was wrong."

Nobody but Conall had heard him. That was how soft Isaac's whisper had been.

"Isaac-!" A hand filled with electricity was at his mouth in a second while Isaac bent Conall over backwards so that he stood above him, one foot on his chest. Isaac's other hand sat at the back of Conall's head, tugging viciously on his hair. "I was waiting for you to say my name." His expression darkened and he moved closer, empty eyes tightening. "That's your last word."

Then there was electricity flowing in and out of the ghost. Conall was screeching.

Before anybody in the cave could register what was happening, it was over. There was no Conall left- only his spirit wandering around for a suitable tool. Whatever aura had been left in Isaac flowed out of him like smoke, grey gradually becoming the vivid blue that belonged to their friend.

Where an enemy once stood, their Isaac was left. His hands were limp at his sides and he stared down at the ground silently. The bubble around Zarei and Spender dissipated into nothing.

Isabel and Ed looked at each-other and beamed large, blissful smiles that reached from cheek to cheek. They both got up, albeit painfully, and ran to each-other. They laughed as they twirled around again and again in excitement.

Zarei sighed and ripped what was left of Spender's shirt open to get a clear look at the cut. When she did, she gasped. Spender was alarmed. For Zarei to be surprised, something had to be even worse than he thought!

"What? What is it?!"

"It's gone!"

"What?"

She reached into her shirt and pulled out a small pocket mirror and held it above him so that he could see for himself without moving too much. She was right. The gaping hole that had been in his stomach was gone- the blood (and whatever else had fallen out of him while he'd been out of the fight) nonexistent.

"It seems he specialized in illusions, too."

"That wouldn't surprise me. He toyed with the emotions of others- why not their visions, as well?"

Of course! It had been a scare tactic meant to frighten the children into submission! How had that not occurred to him before?

Well, he supposed he was too busy being in fatal pain…

Max breathed in and out heavily through his mouth. His entire body ached more than it had against probably any enemy he'd ever faced: that included Johnny. He supposed that was to be expected. Man, when Isaac said he could kill Isabel and Ed together- he wasn't kidding!

Max exhaled and took one step towards him. "Hey, man. Are you okay-?"

Isaac fell to his knees and the cave shook. The celebrations stopped as the spectrals realized- Isaac had been midway through powering the machine. Spender looked up at his colleague.

"Could it still go off?"

"It won't be strong enough to break the barrier, but if it does go off then this cave will collapse." Zarei grinded her teeth. "We won't have enough time to get out of here with everyone injured."

"So what are our options?"

"We either die or we shut down the machine."

Spender bared his teeth. "I was worried you were going to say that."

Isaac didn't know why his body was shaking. He felt numb. He should have expected this to happen. It wasn't like Conall was the least obvious thing in the world. He'd met other kids that were better liars than Conall had been. He'd seen the signs, he'd just ignored them because he'd been so happy to have a man of justice beside him- he'd been so happy to have a friend. Just one. One friend. Why hadn't he seen it coming?

Hot tears landed on his hands and slid over his knuckles, running down to the dirt below. The shaking got worse. He'd betrayed them. He'd willingly betrayed everybody he'd ever struggled to get the love and friendship of! If they hadn't trusted him before, what could they think of him now?

He'd hurt them- he'd knocked them into the ground and said things he'd promised himself would never get passed his head. He'd stood above Max and told him he would take his life all for the sake of a ghost who'd only ever wanted vengeance- not justice. He didn't even know if he could face the Doorman anymore…

His fingers scratched at the dirt. He only knew that because he felt it- his eyes were too blurred by the build-up for him to see much of anything. He caved in on himself, bowed down and begging for forgiveness without a word. He was sobbing inaudibly, taking deep breathes when he felt he could manage without too much noise. What were they going to do with him? Were they going to put even more restrictions on what he could know, or would they just ban him altogether? He decided it didn't matter anymore. They'd never trust him- ever. If he'd had a chance before it was as gone as he was feeling.

There was a hand on his shoulder and he flinched. When the hand didn't make any other movements, Isaac gradually lifted his eyes to find Max bent over, staring at him from under his cap. Isaac's eyes widened and he looked away, sniveling and shutting his eyes as tightly as he could to stop the tears.

"Get up."

It took Isaac a few moments to react, but eventually he climbed up to stand on his feet instead of his knees. Max frowned when he still didn't look at him.

"Look, I know that whatever happened must have taken a huge toll on you, but right now this cave is going to collapse on us and we need to shut that thing down."

Isaac shrugged bleakly. "What do we- what do we do?"

"There's another hole on the other side of the cave." With Zarei's help, Spender was standing with an arm slung over her shoulder. "It's the emergency deactivation button. Active it the same way you did the main engine and we'll be good to escape."

"But that only worked because of the" Isaac paused and made a disgusted face "bond… Conall created between the two of us. I don't have a relationship like that with my spirit. I don't think any of us do."

"It doesn't need to be a bond with your spirit." Spender grimaced as another round of pain shot through him. Even if the hole in his stomach hadn't been real, the stitches in his side were very real and they were coming undone. "The reason it didn't work for Conall twenty years ago is because they were all traitors and none of them trusted each-other. I'd do it myself, but I'm in no position."

Isaac raised an eyebrow, about to ask how this situation was any different. Sure, he would not reject the responsibility because this was, in the end, all his fault- but wouldn't Isabel and Ed be better for the job?

Before he could say a word, Max grabbed his wrist and stared pulling him toward a door at the other end of the room. "Come on! We don't have a lot of time and I told my Dad I'd call him when I was on my way back! I don't like lying to my parental guardians, thank you very much!"

As fast as they were running, Isaac wondered how Max was keeping his pace. He'd sent a kick strong enough to knock anyone unconscious. How was he even standing?

When they reached the other side of the door, they were breathless. The entire room had wires running in and out of it, a blue target map of Mayview on a giant monitor. Below that monitor was the emergency shutdown hole. They walked towards it with caution not to trip over any of the tangled messes of wires. "So, what do we do?" Max asked, scratching his head underneath his cap.

Isaac opened his mouth to explain but bit his lip. He hadn't entirely understood what he was doing- he'd only done what Conall had asked. How was he supposed to be of any help here? Isaac felt a hand on either of his shoulders. When he looked at Max surprised, Max was meeting his gaze with a more determined one. "Listen to me, Sparky. We can do this- you can do this. We have a lot at stake here. We can't just give up."

"Max" Isaac shook his head and faced the ground. "I can't do it. We need to trust in each-other and I can hardly trust myself."

"Well then I'll trust you enough for the both of us!"

Isaac was taken aback.

"What? How could you…? After all that I've done in the past two days?! How could you even begin to trust me?"

He was probably imagining it, but he could have sworn he saw a pink dust Max's cheeks. The batter didn't withdraw- he pulled closer. "I can't… I don't think I can afford not to trust you, okay? I need you! And not just right now because you're kind of the difference between whether or not we get home alive, I mean I need you because as great as Isabel and Ed are- they are insane. I am not. You are the closest thing I have to normal and I just-!" Max groaned and leaned his head back in fatigue. "I need you, okay?! Now help me shut this thing off so we can go home!"

Now that he thought about it, Isaac was sure he felt his cheeks heating up too.

Isaac grabbed Max's wrist and directed his hand over the hole. "Close your eyes." Max nodded and did as told. "Now concentrate and give it your power." Max's black aura began to wrap around him like a swaying snake. It circled down his arm and shot into the hole, to which there was the sound of a click that acknowledged one aura. Once Isaac heard the click, he placed his hand under Max's as to not shock him.

He closed his eyes and gave the energy away, but he heard no click. What was he doing wrong?

Then he felt fingers tangle through his own, a warm hand on top of his. Isaac met Max's gesture by closing his hand so that his fingers laid on top of his friend's. A smile found its way to his face.

They heard a second click.


	8. Chapter 8

Nothing had really changed.

The barrier around Mayview still stood- which was a great comfort to everybody involved. Man's Rise Cave had definitely lost a few rocks here and there, but it hadn't caved in enough for any of them to worry about being crushed to death.

Nobody would know what had happened there- except Mister Spender, Doctor Zarei and their organization- Isaac thought bitterly. The city would remain the same. Its people would remain the same. Conall's rise had been nothing but a dot of ink on an entirely blank sheet of paper- so much more to write that nobody notices the tiny little smudge that makes the 'i'. Everybody was relatively silent as they piled into Spender's car, save for Isabel and Ed joking about whatever it was they were joking about. Nobody really paid attention to their giggling. Doctor's order, Spender was supposed to sit in the passenger seat of the car. He complained and moaned heavily as Zarei hoisted him onto her shoulders as they walked. Zarei rolled her eyes and told him to shut his mouth because she couldn't bear hearing him cry like a small child.

They watched as the kids piled into the car, some enthusiastically- others (namely Isaac) not so much.

"So we're never speaking about this again."

"BL only needs to know the threat was dealt with."

"Understood."

* * *

><p>- Monday -<p>

Sunday had come and gone regularly, just like a normal holy-crap-I-had-homework-what-do-I-do-now-it's-like-9:00PM day would go. Isaac messed around in his room for a little while with… nothing. Then he'd gone to visit the Doorman, who seemed very pleased Isaac was back to health when he'd heard Isaac had been ill.

Isaac didn't have the heart to tell him what he'd done.

Though Isaac supposed, since everybody was acting like nothing ever happened, he was expected to forget the story of Conall too. That meant he wouldn't have to tell the Doorman anything.

He couldn't do that.

Come Monday he knew he just couldn't go into the clubroom, sit down, and get angry like he usually would. He couldn't just shrug what happened off as a thing of a nonexistent past, but he knew they couldn't either. They'd act like they normally did around him but they'd remember what he'd done. There'd be more secrets he wasn't allowed to know, Ed and Isabel would stick together like they always did and Max wouldn't be too far behind (because hey, Max needed the activity club because he still knew even less than Isaac and Isaac couldn't blame him). If Isaac thought the loop was apparent before, he knew it was going to be outlined in red pen by the end of the day.

That was why he stopped by the clubroom after school, before anybody (including Mister Spender) got there, and pulled the key he'd used for his shortcut out of his pocket. He stared at it for a good few minutes, contemplating whether or not his decision was a good one. When he came to the conclusion it couldn't be good but it couldn't be bad for anybody, he tossed the key on the desk and walked out of the room.

On his walk out the front door of the school, he'd nearly regretted it. It wasn't too late. He could go back upstairs and he'd be a little late, but nobody would know. Mister Spender would be confused about the key on his desk that came from nowhere, but he'd be completely unaware.

Isaac shook his head and slung his backpack even further over his shoulder, sighing as he took his first steps down the dirt road home.

"So you went and quit, huh?"

Isaac gasped and whipped around to see Max not far behind him, book-bag and baseball bat and his scooter slung over his back. He didn't look angry, but Isaac could read him well.

Max was upset with him.

Isaac sighed and turned around entirely. "It's the only thing I could do."

"You know, besides staying in the club- that's an option."

He laughed at Max's sarcasm. Even if it could be painfully annoying, Max's cynicism made him who he was and it was Isaac's favorite thing about him. "It's really not. We can still hang out, Max."

"Isaac-!"

"Look, I know what you're going to say. You're going to tell me I'm being overdramatic and that nothing's going to change- and maybe you're right. But, I am pretty sure you're wrong." Isaac faced the ground and kicked the dirt, stuffing a hand in his pocket. "Ed and Isabel- they have a clique. You're uh, you're lucky enough to be part of that. You'll get the answers to your questions and the Activity Club might be a really good place for you. But for me…"

"They won't trust you."

"Whoever it is Mister Spender works for is going to trust me even less- Mister Spender himself is going to trust me even less. I'll be an outcast all over again and it's going to be nobody's fault but my own."

"Um, actually, maybe that's kinda sorta our fault?"

Isaac's attention snapped up from the pebbles he'd trained his eyes on. Isabel and Ed followed closely behind Max, looking awkward and shuffling uncomfortably. Max stepped to the side, seemingly aware that they'd been there. Isaac opened his mouth to say something, but when nothing came he shut his lips and waited to hear what they had to say. Isabel and Ed exchanged guilty looks. Ed was the first to speak up. "You're really quitting?"

Isaac frowned but nodded, much to their concern. "Yeah, I am. As I'm sure you heard, it's going to be really hard to learn anything anymore. I might not even be allowed on any missions after what happened. It's for the best that I..." He trailed off when he felt arms wrap around his neck. By the long dark hair that clouded his vision, he knew who it was. "Isabel?"

"We really made you feel that way, huh?"

He swallowed heavily and decided it was a good idea to stop talking.

Isabel carried on. "Isaac you really scared us back there. You were a completely different person and you wouldn't listen to anything anyone said. We thought we lost you!" Her hands grabbed onto his shirt and jerked him even closer. "You're our- you're our friend, okay? I know we haven't acted like it, but you never told us there was anything wrong!"

Max smiled, tilted his cap upward, and crossed his arms. This was a conversation long overdue. Although he was fairly certain things were cool between himself and Isaac, he'd had a feeling the medium was planning on quitting anyway. He was suddenly very glad that he'd managed to stop Isabel after class and share his suspicions. When she'd heard, Isabel's face had scrunched up in what he'd assumed to be courage as she'd proudly declared "Isaac? Quitting? Yeah no, that's not happening!" Ed had been just as determined to stop their friend from walking out.

Isaac's eyes widened as Isabel nuzzled into his neck, his hands at his sides frozen as he was unsure what to do with them. "Talk to us next time! Tell us when you're feeling like that. Ed and I get it- what feeling all alone is like. We felt that way forever before finding each-other. If we'd realized we were making you feel that way we would have done something! We don't blame you for what happened, Isaac. We're as much to blame as you are!" She was beginning to shake and Isaac knew she was crying. Her voice got quiet enough that Isaac could barely hear her. "Don't make us lose you again."

His hands finally figured out what to do and they wrapped around Isabel's waist as Isaac buried his head in her shoulder.

Ed was in the hug in no time flat, launching himself between them and holding his friends for dear life. Isaac and Isabel readily welcomed him in, laughing about nothing. He wasn't one for talking, but Isaac could tell by the way Ed squeezed on their shoulders he'd agreed with everything Isabel said.

Max snickered and pulled his backpack further onto his shoulder. "Maxwell Puckett- get in here!"

"WHOA HEY!"

Isabel's hand found its way to his wrist and she tugged him forward so that he was locked in the embrace, too. Max groaned. "Ugh, I don't want to do this with you dorks!"

His mock irritation was met with chuckles and snickers.

There was no helping it, so Max accepted the hug and nestled in.

"You do know we have a classroom for this sort of thing?"

The group looked up to see Mister Spender standing at the doors of the school, a small smile on his face. "Come on inside, children. I just got word about the ghost of a groundhog that's terrifying spirits and ghosts alike. I need to prepare you before I send you out there."

"Yes! I wasn't expecting more action so soon!" Isabel pumped her fist and ran at the door. "Race you guys!"

"That's a bet you're gonna lose!" Max bolted after her, Ed not far behind. He'd paused to laugh maniacally. Isaac chuckled and shook his head before walking after them. Racing wasn't his thing.

Now if they were going to have an eating contest, he would definitely run them into the ground.

"Isaac."

The medium paused and slowly turned around.

Mister Spender was observing him, he could tell. He was silent, watching the way Isaac shuffled uncomfortably under his gaze- and oh boy, was Isaac shuffling uncomfortably.

The teacher eventually took steps toward him. Isaac gasped and stood up straight, clenching his hands anxiously. He was going to get reamed into for what happened Friday and Saturday- he just knew it.

A gentle hand ruffled his hair. Isaac flinched at the contact but when he realized he'd been wrong, he calmed down. "You were very brave to stand up to Conall on Saturday." Spender smiled. "You were even braver to stand up to us."

"I wouldn't call it bravery so much as being blinded by emotional manipulation, but thanks." Isaac laughed shyly and looked away. The teacher laughed too and shook his head, removing his hand from Isaac's hair. "You were strong back there and you really proved your loyalty."

"What?!" The medium jumped back, eyes wide. "I beat you guys to pulps! I nearly got you, specifically, killed!"

"First of all, that was a hallucination- a mind trick. I was never stabbed, we only thought I was." Subconsciously, Spender touched the place he'd felt the 'sword' go through. "Second of all, I wasn't talking about loyalty to us. I was talking about loyalty to what is right. You may have been under Conall's control, but he could only manipulate your emotions- not your morals. The only reason his trick worked was because you felt an urge to do the right thing. That's all anybody can ever ask of someone."

Isaac thanked him, but could see there was something else his teacher wanted to say. "What else?"

Spender groaned and leaned his head back, grinding his teeth. "Don't tell Doctor Zarei, Isabel's grandfather, or Agent Day about this. My boss will kill me." He leaned over and whispered in Isaac's ear. "It's nothing you did."

He stood up straight and retreated to the classroom, bidding Isaac to follow. For a few moments, Isaac stood exactly where he was, eyes wide and searching for a straight line of thought. When what Mister Spender said finally clicked, a smile broke across his lips and he hurried after his friends.

Later that night, Ed beat that level in his game.


End file.
